


A Rose of the Forbidden Love

by imgilmoregirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, priest!Gold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-03-19 04:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13696755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imgilmoregirl/pseuds/imgilmoregirl
Summary: She was twenty-one, reckless, beautiful and the newest face of the Hooded Beauty company. She was just stunning and kind and reminded Belle French a lot of who she used to be in the past, which was why she was always so rude with the girl. Rose was naïve and she didn’t like naïve people.Father Gold meanwhile, loved how innocent and sweet the girl was. Mainly because she reminded him of someone from his past and he felt the strong need of protecting that young flower.But the ups and downs of Rose’s life would bring two people together and end the sweet torture Fiona Gold had pulled them through.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show, just as I don't own Cristal the soap-opera that inspired this fic. This is just a fanwork made for fun.
> 
> I know, I shouldn't have been writing this. I have too many WIP, but this won't be a long one. It was actually meant to be a big one-shot, but I think I prefer posting it as a chaptered fic. This fic is inspired by soap-opera called "Cristal", it is the brazilian version of another soap-opera which is Mexican, but I couldn't really find the name of the original one, but I'm inspiring it on he version I watched, so you got it.  
> Well, I hope this is enjoyable.

Belle French had always been a poor girl, but after her father died she found herself desperate. She hadn’t eaten for weeks when she was finally called by an agency to become the housekeeper of a wealthy family. It was her salvation and she happily moved to the huge mansion where she met three people who would change her life forever. The first one of them was Helga Potts, the kitchen-maid, who she quickly became acquainted to, probably the first person to ever be gentle to her after her father died and she started to live in misery.

The next two, however, had a bigger impact in everything that happened to her during the following year. Fiona Gold, her employee was a cruel widowed woman who appeared to hate her from the first time she laid eyes on Belle and made her life in that house very difficult. Her son, Adam, however, was a sweetheart who had been only kind and generous with her.

He used to meet her in the gardens every morning, pick a rose and give it to her with the most handsome smile in his lips. Belle didn’t know what exactly made her feel so drawl to him, maybe it was because Adam was a very smart and well-read man, just a couple of years older than her, or maybe it was the way he looked directly at her eyes when he spoke to her, but somehow, he made her heart race whenever he was near to her.

The only problem was that his fate was already traced. His mother wanted him to become a priest and he would be leaving to Italy soon, but that didn’t prevent her feelings from growing, mainly after the day when he brushed his lips against hers after giving Belle a brand-new red rose. She smiled, she returned the kiss. But he would be leaving in the next week.

As the days went by, Belle started to feel despair to know he no longer would be in that house, so in the night before his flight, she sneaked to his bedroom and found him sat by his desk with a book in hands.

“Mr. Gold?” Belle called in a shaky voice, startling him, who jumped in place with surprise. “I’m sorry to scare you, but I brought you a present.”

He stood up, walking towards her with a smile and taking the small black box from her hands, opening it to find a silver chain which was shaped as a chipped cup, because she had really chipped one of his mother’s precious white and blue teacups the day they met and he had come in her behalf.

“It is beautiful, Belle, thank you. I’ll really cherish it.”

“Good, I wanted you to have something to remember me.”

Placing the chain on his nightstand, Adam turned back to her and cupped her face, pressing his forehead to hers and inhaling deeply.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Adam whispered. “My darling, Belle. I will always remember you.”

She almost sobbed at the kindness in his voice and how in love he truly sounded and she couldn’t contain herself. Belle reached for his lips and kissed him, just another brush of lips at first, but a deep groan came through his throat and he pressed his whole body to her, claiming her mouth with eagerness. It was how they ended up in bed, moaning and writhing as they gave in into their passion, murmuring promises of eternal love.

Adam knew he shouldn’t be doing this, he couldn’t be doing this, but he had spent a whole life in celibate to fulfil his mother’s wishes and he loved Belle so much, desired her so much that he couldn’t leave without having her at least once. When he saw her naked boy in the low lights of his childhood bedroom he wished he was strong enough to fight Fiona and live his own life the way he wanted to, but unfortunately he wasn’t, so he would have this, drinking the image of her beautiful curves exposed to him, kiss every inch of her, trusting his memory to keep it alive forever and then, fly to Italy like a coward, confessing his sins before he became who he had been promised to be.

He found her to be as innocent as he was, her virgin blood marking his sheets as he briefly hurt her at the intrusion, but Belle was brave and she only closed her eyes tightly with pain for a couple of seconds before asking him to move. And it was the most amazing night of his life, lost in some kind of lust he didn’t know to be so good and incredible. Adam loved her, with all his soul. He wanted to marry her, have a life with her. But he wouldn’t.

She moaned his name in the peek of her pleasure and he thought it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It ended him, making lights burst behind his eyes as he filled Belle with his seed before falling beside her, breathless and boneless.

Later, she kissed him one last time and went back to her own room. Adam freed himself from the dirty sheets and tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. When Belle woke up the next day, he was already gone.

* * *

 

Weeks passed before she started to feel ill. Mrs. Potts warned her about what it might mean, but Belle didn’t want to consider it, so she ignored the other maid, focusing in her duties until the day she fainted while serving Fiona’s lunch and woke up in her room with her employee wandering around with a very angry face that told her nothing good was coming.

“Mrs. Gold? What happened?”

Fiona turned around with narrowed eyes, grabbing Belle by her wrists and pulling her out of the bed, just so she could slap the girl’s face.

“What happened? You dare asking me what happened, little whore?” She yelled at Belle. “You corrupted my son. He was meant to be a saint and you corrupted him.”

“I… I did no such a thing.”

“Of course, you did, you’re pregnant. The doctor just left, he confirmed,” Fiona said, looking at her with hate. “But you are not telling Adam. You’ll take your stuff and get the hell away from my house and my boy.”

Belle sat in the bed crying for hours until Mrs. Potts appeared and told her she better leave, before Fiona came back there and threw her out. The maid gave her all her savings and told Belle about a building with cheap flats in the other end of the town and that was where she went to.

The girl tried for lots of jobs, but no one wanted a pregnant employ, so she ended taking shifts in a small diner, however she barely made enough to eat and pay for the rent. When the time came and Belle gave birth, she was all alone, but she cried with happiness when the doctor put the perfect little baby girl in her arms. She thought everything would be worth it if she could give her child a better life.

But unfortunately, that was not what happened. Two weeks with the baby – who she didn’t give a name to, because she didn’t have the peace of mind to think about a good one at the moment – Belle saw herself starving. She wasn’t working, she couldn’t buy food, nor clothes to protect her daughter from the cruel winter.

So, one night, feeling particularly desperate, she took the baby in her arms and walked to the wealthy side of the town, found a basket in the trash and put the little girl in there taking her to the doorstep of the biggest mansion she found.

“I’m sorry,” Belle whispered to the child, “but you deserve more than dying alongside with me. I love you, little one. I always will.”

Then, she knocked on the door and hide herself waiting until she saw that a couple had picked the baby and taken her inside so she could leave and drown herself in guilty for what she had just done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm so sorry if there is anything wrong with my writing, English is not my first language.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years later, Rose meets her parents without knowing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thanks to Moonlight91 for telling me the Mexican version of the soap-opera is called "Privilegio de Amar".  
> So here we go with the second chapter, I do hope I can finish it in about six chapters or so.

Rosalie Weaver had been raised by the nuns, she had lived in the convent with other abandoned children until she was old enough to find a job herself and pay for the small apartment she was now going to share with another two girls, Sabine and Jacinda. She considered herself rather lucky with the life she now had even though she sometimes still felt sad to know none of her parents wanted her and she didn't even know who they were.

Sometimes she still got herself wondering about them, but Rose never truly allowed her mind to stay in those matters for much time. She was working in a fancy shop that sold the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen and sometimes, she imagined herself wearing them, although she knew she had no money to pay of it. Rose worked long hours per day, but she didn't mind as long as it provided her money for the rent.

It was on a Friday night, when the shop was promoting an event with lots of models in the mall, that she suddenly saw her life becoming a little bit more interesting - and unfortunately, complicated too. She was helping bring some boxes from their stock when she stumbled with a petite woman, dressed in fine clothes.

"Look at where you go, girl," she immediately yelled angrily, before looking up at her and blinking. "Oh, you're one of the models?"

"I'm afraid not," Rose answered. "I work at the shop."

The woman shook her head, a smile stretching on her lips as she took the boxes from her hands and pulled them away, blue eyes shining with interest in her direction.

"No, you don't work there anymore, you work for me," the woman said stretching out a hand for her. "I'm Belle French, majoritarian owner of the Hooded Beauty company."

“Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Rosalie Weaver.”

Rose accepted the greeting completely astonished, allowing Belle to drag her to the backstage where a couple of girls were being prepared to show up in the dresses designed by that tiny woman. Calling out for a blonde girl, Belle instructed her to prepare the girl for the fashion show and just like that, in a matter of hours, she could barely recognise herself when she looked at the mirror.

Belle took a second to admire the girl. Long, curled auburn hair framed her face, pinkish petal lips and warm brown eyes made it remarkable, she was slim, short and had one of those smiles you wouldn’t soon forget. And she was exactly what Belle had been looking for as the new face of her brand. She watched as Regina de Locksley, the wife of her business partner walked towards then, arching an eyebrow at her new acquisition.

“Who do we have here?” Regina asked analysing the girl from head to toe. “I don’t believe I have seen her before.”

“This, dear friend, is the brand-new face of our company. Rosalie Weaver.”

“Rosalie Weaver is not a very pretty name,” the dark-haired woman answered, wrinkling her nose at it. “We need something nicer.”

“You can call me Rose,” the girl answered. “All my friends do.”

Belle’s lips tightened for a moment, a quick remembrance passing through her mind, about a time where her favourite flowers where always given to her by someone she wished she could simply forget. But Belle couldn’t let an old heartache get between her business, not when she had right in front of her such a big prize.

“Rose,” she pronounced slowly, as an agreement. “Hooded Beauty’s prettiest flower.”

A smile spread on Regina’s lips as she led the girl to the walkway where lots of people were waiting to see their summer collection. Belle knew she eventually would have to come out and talk to the public about the dresses she had designed for this season, but for a moment she couldn’t move from where she was, because Rose looked down to the floor with a little smirk appearing on her face and her heart attempted to stop.

Only once before she had seen someone smiling exactly like that, but it seemed to be almost in another life. She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and looked up to see her adoptive son, Gideon standing behind her and that made her feel immediately better.

“Is everything alright, mother?”

“Perfect,” she lied, allowing him to drag her to the walkway where she should start her speech.

Later that day, when she was already home, tucked in bed, Belle couldn’t help thinking about the love she lost and the baby she abandoned.

* * *

 

Rose had always been quite a religious person, after all, she had grown-up in a convent, surrounded by nuns, so it wasn’t a surprise for anyone if she would be home late, because she had stopped by the church, and that was exactly this night’s occasion. She was feeling grateful for the amazing day she had and the prospect of what Monday might bring after she signed the contract to start modelling for the Hooded Beauty company. It was like a dream coming true.

The girl entered the empty church and looked around, trying to locate the elderly Father Joseph, the sweet priest that presided the masses in Storybrooke, but didn’t find anyone near, so she walked to the backroom, where usually he attended people who needed to confess their sins and knocked on the door, being caught by surprised when it was opened by someone totally different from who she expected.

He was a rather short man, with shoulder-length greying hair and kind brown eyes, but Rose had never seen him there before.

“Excuse me,” she started. “I was looking for Father Joseph.”

“Oh,” the man murmured. “I’m afraid you aren’t going to find him here anymore, child. _Heart attack_ , he was buried last week.”

“He is dead?” Rosalie gasped. “Oh God, I should have known, but nobody told me.”

The priest smiled fondly at her as gesticulated for Rose to get inside the room, where she took a seat while he boiled some water and prepared a tea for them, saying it would warm her heart a bit. When he came back with a huge teapot and two cups, she took it with a thankful smile.

“I haven’t even asked your name, forgive me.”

“I’m Father Gold,” he presented himself, taking a seat in front of her. “And who are you?”

“Rosalie Weaver. _Rose_ for short.”

He nodded and for a long moment his eyes got lost in the bottom of his cup, glancing down at it as he sighed deeply. Gold knew that if he looked up he would see the ghost of a lost love, one that still haunted him and made him feel like he didn’t deserve to be who he was now. Sometimes he wondered if his darling Belle still thought about him whenever she saw the red flowers.

The girl seemed to sense his distress and placed her teacup on the desk, looking up at him with the most generous eyes he had ever seen.

“Is something wrong, Father?”

“No. It’s just that roses used to be very special to me, but you shouldn’t worry about that,” he guaranteed with a shook of his head. “Now, tell me, child, why did you come here?”

For a second, she worried at her lip, pulling her hair behind her own ear and tracing the blue patters of her purse with a nervous finger. She looked very young, as if she was still a teenager, but something told him he might be wrong about that.

“I’ve got a new job and I was feeling thankful, that’s all,” Rose smiled. “Usually I talked to Father Joseph whenever something nice happened, it helped me feeling grateful for the life I had other than resented.”

“And why would such a beautiful girl like you, be resented with life?”

Rose shrugged, but he could see how affected she become when asked about that. He hated to be the one who caused her to think about things that still hurt her, it was like there was an ache on his heart when he saw her eyes becoming sad. It was more than the usual compassion he felt of any other person he ever talked to and it was the weirdest thing he’d ever felt.

“I was abandoned when I was just a baby, I never knew my parents.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I believe everybody should have a family.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, then took her purse in hands and stood up. “Anyway, I need to go home before my friends start to looking for me. Thank you for the tea, Father, and for listening to me.”

“You’re welcome, you can come here whenever you want.”

She smiled and thanked him again before disappearing through the hallway, leaving Gold to stare at his tea and try to understand what exactly about that girl felt so odd to him.

* * *

 

Jacinda worked at a bar. Usually Saturday nights meant Rose and Sabine would be there near her by the counter, talking cheerfully and taking all time with their friend as they could, but tonight was different, tonight was about celebration and Jacinda was drinking with them instead of making the drinks, using her day off to have some fun. However, the only thing she had managed to hear from both girls was how much of an idiot she was been lately.

“Henry is trouble, you know it. He is rich, is mother is a lioness and his family would never approve your relationship,” Sabine said. “He is just using you, honey.”

Snorting, Jacinda finished her second shot of tequila and handed the empty glass to Rose.

“More please.”

Rolling her eyes at the girl, Rosalie walked to the counter and asked for another tequila, taking a seat as she waited for the busy barman to managed to pour her drink. That was when she saw him, sat in the stool next to hers, holding a glass of scotch in his hands.

“Let me guess, you and your girls are betting who gets drunk first,” he started with a smirk.

“No, we are celebrating and thankfully not driving.”

He stretched out a hand for her, smiling lazily.

“Roland.”

“Rosalie,” she answered.

And of course, she forget about Jacinda’s drink.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle meets Father Gold.  
> Rose questions her relationship with Roland.

The first photoshoot Rose did for the company was a big success. She never really thought about herself as a beautiful girl, actually she used to find a lot of flaws in her own body and face, mainly to try explaining why her parents didn’t want her, but the truth was she had only been fooling herself all this time. Rose was really pretty and all the compliments she received after the photos were released, just confirmed that.

She had been seen Roland for about two months now and she worked for Belle French most of the week, making more money out of modelling than she could ever get at the mall. Rose could still remember about the first time she entered the Hooded Beauty and found herself within sparkly black walls, being escorted by Regina de Locksley to her husband’s office, were Belle could also be found, showing Robin, a couple of sketches she had been drawing.

“Oh, so this is our new star,” the man exclaimed happily, standing up to take both her hands and spin her around, so he could get a full view of the girl. “You’re as beautiful as the pictures from our show accused.”

Belle smiled at her from where she was, sparkly blue eyes fixed on Rose’s brown ones. She had been reading about the company members and thought that by now she knew their lives as the back of her hand. Isabelle French started her career as a seamstress, but the quality of her work called attention of a very famous brand of clothes and she worked designing dresses for them until she made money enough to start a partnership with another designer, Robin de Locksley, and they opened their own company.

It was when she got married with a rich architect called Gaston and adopted two children: ten-year-old Gideon and three-year-old Alice. Her husband died just a couple of years after they wed, leaving an enormous amount of money as heritage for Belle and the children, who were now a twenty-six-year-old man and a nineteen-year-old girl.

She knew both of them worked here in the company, just as Robin and Regina’s sons, whose names weren’t on the internet, because apparently, they wanted to keep peoples’ eyes very far away from them. Rose just thought it was a pity she knew who Henry was, only because Jacinda couldn’t keep her hands out of him. Later that day, she saw the boy hanging with the hairstylist, Robyn and shook her head to herself thinking her friend should definitely hear when Sabine gave her some advices and kick him out.

It was on her lunch time of that first day, that Rosalie got to meet Gideon and Alice. They were eating alone on the kitchen when she entered and offered her a seat by their table, which Rose hesitantly took, allowing herself to have a nice conversation with them.

But it all happened for a long time now and she was flipping some shiny cards in her hands as she waited for Roland to come back with the food he promised. She was in his apartment, the place where they always seemed to meet lately feeling a little nervous about the promise the cards were, before she heard the door being opened behind her and smiles as she looked over her shoulder.

“Hey,” she greeted her boyfriend, waiting for him to press a kiss on her lips before placing the boxes of Chinese in front of her with a frown on his face. “Is something wrong, Rol?”

“No, it is just…” Roland took a deep breath and looked down at the pink cards in her hands. “I can’t go to Paris with you anymore.”

“Why not?”

He sighed deeply, taking Rose’s hands in his and rubbing her fingers very gently. She had loved how attentive and kind he was right from the very start, but she suspected there was something wrong with Roland, because he never spoke about his life, his job, his family and they only met there or the places nearest her flat, where apparently nobody knew him.

But she hadn’t given much thought to it until now. He had promised he would go watch her big worldwide debut in France and she was really excited about it, but now she felt her hopes fade a little. Of course, nothing could be so perfect and she was just waiting for him to say they were done, when the boy waved his head at her and cradled her neck between one of his huge palms, pulling Rose closer.

“I mean, I’ll try,” he said. “But I have a problem coming up next week and it will be really difficult to escape.”

“A problem?” Rose questioned. “Which kind of problem?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” the boy guaranteed. “I won’t let you down because of silly things, alright?”

She smiled but it was a weak smile and when she kissed him again, Rose wasn’t sure this relationship was going to last anymore.

* * *

 

Belle had stopped going to church long ago, when life had become so cruel to her that she had no faith left, but when Regina – the only person who now knew about her past – told her about the new priest that just arrived Storybrooke, she couldn’t help herself but drive there after work to check if it was really him. For some reason, she thought she would feel better if she saw that he had moved on and was now doing what he always wanted to, just like she was, but when Belle saw Adam’s slim form sat alone in one of the benches, her heart flipped painfully.

For the first time in twenty-one years she felt the need of being sincere and telling him everything, because she still felt guilty about what she had done with their precious tiny baby girl, and could only hope she was somewhere out there, living a beautiful life. Belle swallowed hard, taking some shaky steps to where he was and cleaned her throat to call his attention.

He looked up at her and gasped, pulling the Bible he was holding aside and standing up, his arms enlacing her shoulders in a trembling embrace, but just a couple of seconds later he seemed to notice it was probably inappropriate and pulled away, relishing in holding both her hands and looking deep into her eyes.

“Belle,” he said, the name sounding slow and languish in his thick accent. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Me too,” she whispered. “A friend of mine told me you were here and I couldn’t resist. I had to see you.”

“Oh, darling, I’ve missed you.”

He stroked her hair and she thought that if she closed her eyes, Belle could almost imagine he wasn’t a priest and they weren’t inside a church, but back to the backyard of his old house, where they shared the first sparks of the most powerful love she had ever felt in her life.

“Adam…”

“It is Father Gold now,” he corrected her.

“Yes, right,” she whispered, even though the title pained her. “Father Gold, I have things I need to tell you, about our past.”

He abruptly pulled away, as if her skin had burned him and turned his back to Belle, not daring face her when the mention of their quick affair still affected him so much. When he though he was sinning just to be in her presence.

“I thought you knew we should forget about that.”

“I do,” Belle answered. “But from that night, came a child. A daughter.”

Gold blinked, turning back to look at her eyes with his startled ones. His heart started to race on his chest. He couldn’t believe her words and he felt as if he could faint at any second.

“A daughter?” Gold repeated with disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” she murmured, taking a seat and looking down at her hands as she started to speak. “The littlest baby I’ve ever seen. She was probably very weak because I haven’t been eating well during my pregnancy, but she was really beautiful.”

“Was?” He swallowed hard. “Is she dead?”

She took a deep breath as he watched the tears start to streaming down her face and Gold took a seat too, because his legs felt too weak to keep him standing for another second. He was preparing himself for the worst, to know he had a daughter just to be told which grave he should visit, but instead of confirming his suspicions, Belle shook her head and he sighed in relief.

“No. Or at least I hope she is alive,” Belle murmured, wiping the corners of her eyes. “I left her by the doorstep of some strangers two weeks after she was born.”

“You abandoned our daughter?” Gold asked, stupefied and angry. “How could you?”

A humourless laugh left Belle and something very different from the sweetness he was used to, took her eyes. Bitterness. Pain. Rage. Regret. She stood up, her high heels making a muffled sound echo through the empty church.

“How could I?” Belle returned harshly. “Your mother expelled me by the moment she learned I was pregnant.”

“She knew, all this time?”

“Of course, she did.”

Father Gold’s thoughts flow to his mother, who had always been so strict about what she wanted for his future. She was the very reason he became a priest instead of following his heart and maybe running away with Belle, the woman he still loved and, now he also knew she was the reason why he never met his daughter and probably never would. Fresh tears blurred his eyes and he reached out a hand to touch Belle’s arm, watching sadly as she shifted from his touch.

“Why didn’t you look for me?”

“I didn’t know how, nobody told me where exactly where you went to and all I could think about was finding a way to keep my baby alive,” Belle mumbled, a sob erupting from her throat. “I wish I could have raise her and given her all the love she deserved, but I couldn’t and choose to give that baby the best chance she had and unfortunately it wasn’t with me.”

Closing his eyes, he nodded. Gold wanted to comfort her and ask Belle a thousand different questions, but his mind was focused on the baby girl he had never gotten to know and who now should be a twenty-one-year old woman. God, he was a father and he had never felt more like a failure in his whole life.

“Have you ever tried looking for her?”

“Yes,” Belle sniffled. “Many times, but none of the detectives I’ve contacted were able to find our child. She was too young, had no name… I think she is lost forever, but I wanted you to at least know about it.”

“Thank you, sweetheart, for sharing this secret with me.”

She waved her head positively, gaze fixed on the floor. They had lost the best chances of their lives, the chance of being in love and the chance of raising their daughter together and now they were standing there lost in an awkward silence none of them knew how to break.

“I have to go,” she finally spoke after a while. “I’ve adopted two children who must be missing me already.”

“Good to know,” he smiled weakly. “Go in God, Isabelle.”

With a last weary smile, she made her way out of the church, promising herself not to come back.

* * *

 

Her flighty was booked for Friday night, so she thought she could you her morning to go to the church and ask Father Gold for some guidance about Roland and everything else, but when she entered the church, she saw there was already a woman by his side.

“It doesn’t matter what you though! I had the right of knowing about it,” she heard Father Gold yelling. “It was my life.”

She quickly stepped back, intending to not be seen, but the woman saw her and when her startled eyes laid on Rose, the priest turned around almost startled for being caught in such a heated discussion, but his face immediately lighted up when he noticed her standing there and Father Gold ignored the woman completely, making his way towards the girl.

“Rose, hello child, how can I help you?”

“Nothing really, I just came here to talk a bit, but you already have company.”

“Oh,” Father Gold murmured looking back at the woman. “This is my mother, Fiona. Mother, this is Rosalie Weaver.”

Fiona took some steps into her direction and accepted the handshake Rose was offering her, as her dark brown eyes scanned her face, narrowed, her face showing a frown.

“What a beautiful necklace you have here,” Fiona said, slowly, reaching up to touch the silver pendant Rose was wearing.

“Thank you, ma’am. It was found with me when I was only a baby,” she explained, giving her a smile. “I rarely use it.”

“Yeah, you should keep precious things like this one, very well hidden.”

Her tone was soft and tender, but there was something in the way she glanced at Rose, as if she was trying to see beyond her that made the girl shiver, however she really needed someone to talk right now, so she accepted Father Gold’s offer to have some tea with them. But she also promised herself she wouldn’t do it again when Fiona was around, because she needed to admit, that woman was really terrifying.

* * *

 

The weekend in Paris was a dream, even though Belle was harsh with everyone all the time, including her own children, but Rose couldn’t manage to care too much about her employee’s bad mood, mainly because Roland had made it to France with her and she was more than happy to share her debut with him, who had a thousand and one compliments to flatter her with. He brought her flowers, chocolate and rented a beautiful hotel room for them.

Rose was hesitant when they arrived there, but he was such a gentleman with her, that soon she forgot she should be a smart, careful woman. It all started with harmless kisses, but somehow, they made it to the bed, and she lost herself in his arms. Only later she remembered she had spent a whole week considering if this relationship was really going to last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is Roland hiding?  
> Is Fiona going to be sincere with Gold?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold finds out he is Rose's father.  
> Roland tells something important to Rose.

Father Gold didn’t leave the church very often, unless if it was to go to his mother’s house or the grocery store, but today, he had driven to the Hooded Beauty company, because ever since Belle appeared telling him about a daughter he never knew they had, Gold was feeling distressed. Talking to his mother proved to be a big waste of time, she regretted nothing she had done and thought he should forget he ever had a child, but he simply couldn’t.

While he spent years dedicating himself to praying and trying to help people, his daughter, a part of him, was lost somewhere in this big world and had no idea who he was. He thought she should hate him and Belle, think they didn’t want her and preferred she had never been born, but that couldn’t be more wrong. At night, he dreamed about holding the little baby in his arms, playing with a smiley girl and watching her become a woman. He had lost it all and he would never forgive himself for that.

When he entered the company, and asked to see Belle, the blonde girl on the front counter gave him a puzzled look but indicated her office and he followed the coordinates, knocking briefly before he heard her soft voice asking him to come in. Gold’s breath got caught on his throat at the sight of her, dressed in a tight green dress, hair pulled up in a bun, looking so adult and professional that she could almost be a completely different person from the bubbly maid he once knew.

“Oh, Father Gold, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I’m sorry if I interrupt your work,” he said, closing the door behind himself, “but I needed to see you. I’ve spoken with a friend of mine, detective Rogers. He is going to track our daughter.”

Belle sighed deeply, clasping her hands in front of herself on the table. Taking about her lost baby was worse thing in the world for her and truly believe he wasn’t going to insist in this matter, as he should be a respectable priest with no sins and should want to forget about this small mistake, so he could keep on with his life, but apparently, she was wrong.

“Listen, I tried it a thousand times. It won’t work.”

“Maybe. But I need to try, I can’t simply give up my child this way.”

“And what do you intend to do when you find her, Adam?” Belle questioned, rather harshly, because she could see the pain in his eyes and it killed her to know it was partly her fault, as she had been the one to abandon the baby. “You’re a priest, you are not only going to scare the hell out of her when you tell her you’re her father, but you’re also going to ruin your reputation at the church.”

She watched as his jaw tightened and he took some steps into her direction. Belle had to ask God for forgiveness for thinking he looked so handsome all angry and determined this way that all she wanted to do was to forget who he was and kiss him senseless.

“I don’t care, Belle,” Gold replied slowly, his accent thickening. “What I really care about, is the fact that my one and only daughter have spent twenty-one years alone in life. I need to make it up for her.”

“Well, feel free to try, but you’ve been warned,” Belle snorted, leaning against her chair. “Deception will come.”

The door swung open and both their glances immediately flew to it, watching as the bubbly brunette entered the office with one of the outfits the company had provided her, black skinny jeans, high heels and a beautiful sleeveless blue blouse.

“Excuse me,” Rose started, before she eyes the man standing in there, watching her like a fool. “Father Gold, hi!”

“Hello, Rosalie.”

An irritated noise left Belle as she stood up, gathering some folders with sketches and pilling them in her arms, trying not to gave the girl the deadly look she deserved for interrupting their conversation so suddenly.

“Rose, I thought I’ve said nobody should walk inside my office without knocking.”

“I… I’m sorry, Ms. French.”

“Get out,” Belle commanded, analysing her from head to toe and wrinkling her nose to what she saw, before adding: “And watch what you’re eating. You’ve gained some pounds.”

Rosalie looked down at herself furrowing, before she quickly turned back on her heels and disappeared without saying another thing, as if she was a scared cat, which made Belle roll her eyes. The girl was way too submissive.

“Why are you being cruel with her?” Father Gold asked. “Rose is one of the sweetest girls I know.”

“She was late for the second day on the fashion week,” Belle explained. “And all the girls have been talking about how naïve she is. Sees the world through pink glasses. That’s the last thing I need: a dreamer.”

Gold swallowed down her words. It was incredibly sad for him to see how bitter his beloved had become. She used to be happy and carefree, full of expectations, always being kind and generous with everybody, but the girl he met years ago appeared to be gone, replaced by a dark phantom.

“You were a dreamer before.”

“Yeah, but then life pulled me down, forced me to abandon my own baby…” she whispered trailing her eyes to the door, avoiding to meet his. “I’ve changed, Father Gold. Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Sure,” he agreed, making his way to the corridor with Belle following him to go wherever she would. “I’ll tell you if Rogers finds something out.”

She nodded, climbing up the stairs and leaving him there to watch.

* * *

 

“Roland?” Rose’s shaky voice asked when she entered the apartment. “Babe, are you here?”

Her hand was firmly wrapped around her purse’s handle and she took some steps inside the living room, taking care to not fall, as her legs seemed make of jelly in that moment. She was nervous, uncertain and all she wanted was to see him, have him to assure her things would be fine, but when Roland appeared on the hallway, Rose knew it wasn’t going to happen.

The shadow of regret on his eyes caused her heart to race and her stomach twist, but she should have expected it to happen sooner or later. She had always known something wasn’t right about him, she was just about to find out what.

“Rose, hey, I’m glad you are here,” he said, trying to fake a smile. “Please, sit down. We need to talk.”

She slid to the couch, wondering if she should reach for the things she had placed on her bag earlier, before it was too late for saying anything, but she preferred to let him talk first. After all, his next words might define if she wanted him in her life or not.

“What is it?”

“You and I… It needs to end.”

Her eyes slammed shut for a second. How fool she was for believing even for the smallest moments that they could make it work out. She had been counselling Jacinda about Henry, but she was doing pretty much the same with Roland, the difference was that she had no idea who her boyfriend was.

“Why?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Rosie, but I have a fiancée. She was studying in Australia, but now she is back and she is pregnant,” Roland shook his head. “I can’t leave her.”

Rosalie’s lower lip trembled and she stood up, holding her purse against her chest as she waved her head positively to him, tears starting to fall from her eyes. She had been fooled in the worst way possible and her heart was shattered inside her chest, for all the dreams for their life together.

“You’re right,” she confirmed. “You should go stay with her. I’ll make sure you never get to see me again.”

Turning her back to him, Rose left the apartment, the sobs already coming up through her throat.

* * *

 

It was already late and Father Gold had just absolved who he thought to be the last person to confess that night when the door was opened again and he saw the shadow of a woman sitting down the bench beside his in the other side of the woodened wall. He sighed, leaning against it to make sure he would hear everything she said and started the usual ritual.

“Tell me your sins, sister.”

“I’m not sure if you want to hear them.”

Narrowing his eyes, Gold tried to get a better look through the small wholes in the wood, although he didn’t want to properly see her to know who that woman was.

“Mother? What are you doing here?”

“I came to tell you what you want to know, so maybe you can get some peace of mind,” Fiona started. “But as I know you would go running to Isabelle tell her everything if you could, then I’ll do it as a confession, so you won’t be able to say a thing to that little whore.”

“Oh, mother you come to the church plotting evil things and speaking bad of other people… Why do you do this?”

Fiona took a sharp breath. She wasn’t young anymore, actually he though she hadn’t yet died because she had too many unfinished things in this world, as she hadn’t been healthy in years. Mrs. Potts, their old housemaid still worked for her, but now-a-days she looked after Fiona more than she cooked and never in his life Gold saw his mother being grateful for everything she did for her.

“That woman corrupted you Adam,” Fiona retorted, before sighing deeply, clearly trying to calm herself, “but I’m not here to talk about her. I know who your child is.”

“What?” Gold’s eyes got wide and he almost jumped out of the confessionary with excitement. “You do?”

“Yes,” his mother answered. “After leaving our house, Mrs. Potts gave Belle a necklace. A unique one that belonged to generations of woman in her family and I’ve seen a girl wearing this necklace, so I asked Rogers to look up for me and he confirmed. Your daughter is Rosalie Weaver.”

His heart made a painful flip inside his chest. It couldn’t be. He couldn’t have spent the last three months or so talking to his daughter weekly, offering her tea and a shoulder to cry when she talked about how abandoned and alone she had always felt.

“Rose?”

“You can’t say a thing,” Fiona emphasized, “you’re a priest and you’ve promise everything that people confessed you would be a secret.”

He buried his face on his hands. His mother seemed to like this, pulling him through such torture. Gold wanted to get out of that church in that right moment and find his girl – his beautiful, smart and kind girl – say how proud he was to know he was her father and beg her on his knees for her forgiveness as he would never again leave her alone. But now he couldn’t, because Fiona had decided it for him. Again.

“Why would you do this to me?” Gold inquired in a pained voice, some tears falling from his eyes. “Mother, I want to tell her. I want to hold my daughter and say I’ve never knew about her. I want to make amends.”

“But you can’t,” Fiona insisted and he heard when she stood up, the heels of her shoes making a noise against the floor. “I’ll repeat: you are a priest Adam Gold, and that you may remain.”

Then her steps disappeared in the hallway and all he could to was to give in to his weakness and cry.

* * *

 

It took him some hours to recompose himself, but when he finally did and went to the front of the church to close it before going to bed, he saw her sat in one of the benches, head down and shoulders trembling as she sobbed. It was like she was a light spot in the dark church and he was being dragged to her, heart in hands for now knowing who she was and not being able to say a thing.

She looked up at the sound of his steps and for the first time, he realised she had his eyes, brown and deep, but the nose was Belle’s, just like the hair and most of the features in her face, except for the chin. That one was certainly his.

“Father Gold?”

“Rosalie,” he murmured sliding to the empty seat by her side, cupping her face in hands and brushing her tears away. “Oh my God, child, what happened to you?”

A strangled sound left her and she threw her arms around his neck crying against his shoulder as he held her for the first time in his life, feeling his her thumbing in his chest with the emotion as he tried to think about a way to soothe his beautiful girl, until she murmured something that would change it all.

“I’m pregnant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh oh.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gold looks for Belle.  
> Rose makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad I've finished this early, because now I'll spend the rest of the working on Dark Children, with some lucky I can finish it tonight.

“Pregnant?” Father Gold repeated, astonished.

Rosalie pulled away from him, wiping the corners of her eyes, although it seemed worthless, because the tears kept falling. Her whole face had flushed into a bright pink tone and she was visibly shaking. Gold couldn’t believe it, he thought he had found his daughter in time, that he could still do some good in her life, but there she was, crying over the fact she was going to have a child, and he needed to admit to himself, she was never going to be a little girl anymore. She was a woman and soon she would be a mother.

“I know,” Rose mumbled behind her tears, “I’m an idiot.”

“Oh, Rose, you’re not an idiot,” he assured her, brushing some curls away from her face. “Who is the father?”

She took a deep breath and one of the hands that had been helplessly twisting the handle of her purse came up to cover her belly. His glance fell to her middle-section, watching as she mindlessly caressed her own stomach, eyes lost in an invisible point at the altar of the church.

“My ex-boyfriend, Roland.”

“Have you already told him?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I was going to, but then he broke up with me and said he had a fiancée this whole time.”

He felt his jaw tightening as he thought if he found that boy he would make him pay for fooling his daughter and impregnating her, but then he remembered he couldn’t do it, both because nobody knew he was Rose’s father and second because despite of it he was still a priest and he should be stronger than that and not give in to his anger. But it didn’t mean it wasn’t still there, making him feel like his blood was boiling in his veins.

However, before thinking about his own feelings, he needed to consider Rosalie’s and remember what happened with her because of his irresponsibility. He couldn’t let the same happen to his grandchild. Fiancée or not, this boy Roland needed to be involved, or at least have the chance to.

“My sweet child, you need to tell him. He has the right to know.”

“No, Father, he lost the right of knowing about it, by the moment he confessed he played with me.”

This new tone of voice, Gold had never seen Rosalie speaking with before and he shivered to think it sounded just like Belle, when she was being bitter.

“Rose…” he whispered, petting her hair very gently. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” the girl admitted. “I can’t have a child right now, I’ll ruin my entire career.”

His eyes got wild and he swallowed hard. She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying. Gold couldn’t allow her to make such mistake. Yes, maybe it was not the right time to have a child, nor the best circumstances, but it was still a whole person and he knew Rose was good and would regret if she got rid of it.

“Are you thinking about - ” he started, unable to finish the sentence.

That was when she suddenly stood up, holding the purse close to her chest as if it was a shield. He saw the uncertainty in her eyes and he wanted more than never to tell her he was her father and he would never let her or his grandchild wish for nothing. Assure her that everything would be fine, because he would take care of them. But yet, he couldn’t do it, because of Fiona.

“I need time to think,” she murmured, avoiding his eyes.

“You need to calm yourself down,” he corrected. “Come with me, let’s get some cookies and warm milk.”

“No, thank you. I need to go home and solve this on my own.”

Rose glanced quickly at him, before making her way out of the church still crying and not knowing what to do.

* * *

 

Not all make in the world could manage to erase completely the dark circles caused by a bad night of sleep, from her eyes, but Rose did her best and went to work in the next morning, hoping it would help to clear her mind. She felt weird, not being alone wherever she went anymore, knowing the child was there, still too small to be noticed, but just waiting to change her whole life.

A little chaos seemed to have been installed at the company that day, something about the Italian fabric for the dresses of the next fashion show being late, so Rose spent the day, watching the other models freaking out as Alice prepared her for a photoshoot. It was almost noon when she sent him to Robin’s office to ask for Gideon and Rosalie found her chief arguing with his wife. She almost stepped back, trying to pass unnoticed, fearing they would yell at her like Belle used to do, but Regina saw her first.

“What do you want Rose?”

“Alice asked me to check if her brother wasn’t here,” she promptly said.

“Care to check on the office next to mine?” Regina asked. “My youngest son is back to the company and Gideon can be helping him settling some things.”

She nodded, obediently and closed the door behind her. Rosalie didn’t know anything about Robin and Regina’s youngest boy other than he studied abroad and had spent some time doing an internship in England, nothing else, but she hoped he was nice as Henry. What Rose wasn’t expecting to find, when she opened the door of his office, however was the scene in front of her.

Kissing people usually didn’t bother her, but today it made her stomach twist and a strong nausea hit her hard. Because there, in the company, was Roland with a beautiful short-haired girl. When he saw Rose, Roland immediately pulled away from the her, his cheeks burning with colour.

“Rose…”

“Roland _de Locksley_ ,” she said slowly, eyes burning with unshed tears. “You never fail in surprising me. I suppose this is your fiancée.”

Her head was spinning and she felt as if she could faint at any second. The father of her child was also the son of one of the most powerful couples in town. He was rich and owned the place where she worked – and worse – he knew she worked there this whole time and he hadn’t said a thing. Another proof of how he only saw her as a stupid distraction.

“I’m Ivy Belfrey,” the girl presented herself. “And you must be the start of the company. I’ve seen you in a lot of magazines lately, but I think you should quit the carbs. You’re looking slightly fatter than you seemed to be in the pics. Or maybe it is just the photoshop.”

_No, it is actually the baby_ , she thought, noticing that Ivy looked way more pregnant than her, although she bet the girl shouldn’t be much long into her pregnancy too.

“Yeah, photoshop helps a lot,” Rose murmured. “I was looking for Gideon, but I see he isn’t here, so if you excuse me, I still need to find him.”

She bit down on her lower lip with such strength as she turned on her heels that Rose quickly felt the taste of blood in her mouth, but the physical pain was nothing compared to how much her heart ached in that moment.

* * *

 

Belle moved the pencil through the white paper, creating soft lines as she started to put her ideas into a picture. She was trying to relax, but there were too many things in her mind right now and the delay of the fabrics they so needed didn’t help with getting her in a better mood, nor did the fact the person who just knocked on her door was a rather unwanted guest.

Pulling the pencil and paper aside, she stood up looking directly at the priest as she moved to seat on the huge pink chaise in the middle of her office, tapping a hand to the empty seat beside her in an invitation that he took with some hesitance. She crossed one leg oved the over the other and watched as he sat, uncomfortably there, gaze fixed in his own hands.

“You’re here again.”

“Aye, I’m sorry if I keep bothering you,” Gold started with a sigh, “but I needed to tell you something, Belle.”

“Well, speak then.”

He pressed his hands more firmly together, breathing in and out a couple of times, trying to steady his heart, but she was too close to him and the fact that he had come there with a secret burning on the tip of his tongue didn’t help to keep him calm either.

“I know who our daughter is,” the priest finally confessed.

Belle’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes getting wide as she laid a hand on his thigh to get his full attention.

“You’ve found her?”

“Yes,” Father Gold confirmed. “But I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. It was a secret revealed to me in a confession.”

The hope that had suddenly settled lightly on her chest vanished with those simple words. She knew the church’s rules very well. Adam was not just a religious man, he was priest, and his vows were like a weight on his back, chaining him to a strict law he was fated to obey.

“You must be joking,” Belle exclaimed, angrily. “I have the right to know. I’ve spent years trying to find her!”

“I know, sweetheart, but I can’t say anything.”

“It is unfair,” she murmured, shaking her head. “You came here just to hurt me.”

“No,” Gold assured her, taking Belle’s hands in his and coming a bit closer. “I’m in pain too. I can’t tell her, just as I can’t tell you.”

She saw in his eyes that he was telling her the truth, he was suffering and maybe even more than her, because he knew who their daughter was, he could look at her with the weight of this knowledge and do nothing about it.

“Oh, Adam…” Belle whispered, her face approaching his as she allowed their noses to touch very slightly. “What have we done with our lives?”

For a moment, she thought he would lean forward and kiss her, but then they heard he commotion outside and Adam pulled away, looking at the door with a frown on his face.

“What is it?”

* * *

 

Rosalie was still trying to recompose herself, when the sounds of an argument reached her, but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise for her as everything people did there the whole day was yelling at each other, however when Regina appeared dragging a girl by her arm to the main hall with Henry following them and begging his mother to realise that woman, she noticed things definitely weren’t right.

“This bitch will get the hell out of here,” Regina was saying to her son, hand still wrapped tightly around the girl’s arm.

“Jacinda?” Rose blinked, recognizing her friend and wanting to bang her head against a wall for how stupid she had been. Jacinda should have never come there, but that doesn’t mean Rose was willing to let anybody hurt hear. She stepped forward looking at Regina as if she was mad. “Hey, what are you doing with her?”

Regina looked between the two of them in disbelief. Certainly, the last thing she was expecting was for someone in there other than Henry to stood up to the bartender.

“Do you know this woman, Rose?”

“Yeah, she is my roommate.”

At this point, people had started to gather around them and Rose could see Roland with his fiancée, Ivy standing near one of the opened doors, a mask of shock pulled on in their faces. She saw when Belle and Father Gold came from her office and for a quick second, she wondered why he was there so often.

“This girl was hooking up with my boy,” Regina said still incredulously, but also full of anger. She looked up at Jacinda’s face and yelled: “He is better than you. I’m not standing this.”

“Let her go,” she insisted.

Jacinda made a scared noise of pain as the other woman’s nails dig into her skin and Rosalie didn’t think twice before coming up between them, trying to free her friend. There was a violent push and pull and when Regina finally freed Jacinda the two of them fell to the floor. Rosalie groaned as she sat up again, Father Gold rushing to kneel by her side with wide scared eyes.

“Rose, are you alright, child?” The priest asked, touching her still flat belly. “Are you in pain?”

“No, I’m fine,” she answered, pulling away from him, before anybody could notice his distress and rose on her feet, stretching out a hand to Jacinda to help her doing the same.

“Take this sick friend of yours from here,” Belle French told her in harsh tone, blue eyes narrowing dangerously. “And in the next time I see her around, you’re fired.”

Nodding in agreement, Rosalie dragged Jacinda outside, knowing nobody would ever look at her the same way before today.

* * *

 

Sunday morning after the mass, Rose stayed on her bench until everybody was gone and only the priest was left, setting things in place with some kind of calmness she would never have. The girl approached him very slowly, almost hesitant, feeling rather shameful for being at the church even after she had given herself willing to a guy she met at a bar.

“Father Gold?”

He turned around, a small smile appearing on his lips at the sight of her. The last time they had seen each other was in the middle of that big mess at the company. Not exactly the best circumstances.

“I was wondering if you were really fine after what happened.”

“I am,” she whispered, then took a long breath and paused her hands above her stomach, taking the needed courage to speak up. “I thought you would like to know that I decided to keep the baby.”

He opened his arms and hugged her tightly. Rose never had a father, but she never before felt more like a daughter than she did in his presence and his approval was very important to her.

“That was the right decision, child,” the priest guaranteed her. “You can always come to me if you ever need anything.”

She didn’t move or said anything, because those words were exactly the ones she needed to hear and she wanted to feel safe in his arms just for a while more.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose has a talk with Roland.

As the days passed, Father Gold couldn’t help worrying about his daughter’s future. He wished he could tell Belle the truth because Rose needed both of them right now and she worked for her, which only made things worse, as he knew his beloved wouldn’t stand having a pregnant model on her brand. Without the perfect body, Rose had no use for Belle.

He had spoken to her in another occasion, when she came to the church, half-drunk yelling nonsense at him, begging the priest to end her suffering and tell her who the hell was their daughter. But he couldn’t do it, all he could do for her, was hold Belle in his arms as she wept, before passing out in one of the benches. Gold called her children and a sweet, worried boy appeared there twenty minutes later, asking him for forgiveness and saying his mother usually was nothing like that and something must be bothering her too much for Belle to drink.

Refusing his apologies, Father Gold guarantee the boy – Gideon – that he only wished to see Belle fine again, which wasn’t a lie at all. He felt guilty for coming back to Storybrooke and bring all those memories back to surface for her, causing the beauty to break down like this, but the important now was that he needed to find a way to reunite mother and daughter. He was trying to think clearly, looking up at the cross on the front wall of the church and questioning his own faith when he heard the steps coming from the entryway.

Gold didn’t need to look back to know who was there, he knew her slow pacing very well and didn’t get surprised when she slid to the empty seat by his side.

“Came to make another confession?”

“No,” Fiona answered, dark-brown eyes fixed in his expressionless face. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

A small sound left him, something between a laugh and hopeless cry, a strangled noise of despair. It had been years since he last questioned why his mother acted like some twisted psychopath who needed to be in control of everything, making people suffer for her own pleasure, but lately he had been doing it very often.

“How do you think I am doing, mother? _I’m shattered_.”

“It’s your own fault,” she replied with an arrogant snort. “If you haven’t been so weak and have resisted temptation, then we wouldn’t be facing this problem.”

“My daughter is not a problem,” he remarked in a harsh tone. “I just feel bad because I see her so helpless, in such a bad situation and I can’t do nothing about it.”

Fiona arched an eyebrow to him. Surely, she was expecting Gold to be angry, but the reasons he gave her didn’t really make sense. Rogers had investigated the girl’s whole life for her and Fiona hadn’t seen much interesting things about it, aside from the fact she ended up working for her own mother without knowing.

“Bad situation?”

“Rosalie is pregnant,” Father Gold told her with a deep sigh.

The expression on her face changed, eyes narrowing as she shook her head for herself. Twenty-one, single and pregnant. That didn’t really surprise her.

“A whore, just like the mother,” she murmured.

Anger exploded into Gold’s chest at these words. He wouldn’t let her keep on with this, he wouldn’t allow his mother to curse the two people he most loved in his whole life this way.

“You won’t talk about Isabelle and our daughter like this in here,” he yelled, making Fiona jump slightly in place, at his unexpected reaction.  “Get out.”

Standing up very slowly, Fiona gave him a last cruel glance.

“Take my advice, Adam. Don’t get involved with this girl, she is as dirty as her mother.”

* * *

 

Working every single day knowing Roland would be wandering around the company, was a nightmare for Rose. She was grateful nobody could tell yet that she was pregnant, but it wouldn’t take long before she starts to show and then everything would be lost. She didn’t’ know what exact she was supposed to say about that baby, she didn’t have another person she could point as the father and she hoped Roland didn’t care enough to ask if it was his.

There were a lot of things bothering her lately and Rosalie was trying her best to sort out her own life before it could get too messy, but she still felt really unsure and terrified most of the time. She was glad morning sickness hadn’t been a problem to her and was happily walking inside the kitchen with a sandwich in hands when she saw the boy sat by one of the red tables and turned around meaning to make her way out, when a hand gripped her wrist.

“Rose, where are you going?” Roland asked, narrowing his eyebrows at her.

“I didn’t know you were here,” she quickly said, “I’ll have lunch in the make-up room with Alice and Robyn.”

“No, please wait,” he begged. “We haven’t spoke since that terrible day. I miss you.”

A look of disbelief crossed her face. Rosalie couldn’t believe what she was hearing, he had been pretty clear that last day about what his priorities really were, he couldn’t just say those things to her now. He didn’t have the right to play with her heart again.

“Miss me?” Rose inquired, sarcastically. “Roland, you’re getting married in two weeks.”

“Yeah, but it is just because Ivy is pregnant. I don’t love her, I love you, Rosalie.”

He cupped her face, nuzzling his nose against her brow, making her legs feel weak. How ironic it was, Roland was marrying Ivy because she was to have his child, but then, so was Rose, he just didn’t know it. For a moment, she considered telling him the truth, but she couldn’t find the strength to do so, because she shouldn’t destroy someone’s happiness and in that whole mess, she ended up being the other woman and it didn’t please her a bit.

“Don’t you dare saying those things to me,” she whispered. “You played me, fooled me, gave me up.”

“Rose, darling, I’m sorry,” Roland murmured back, looking deep into her brown eyes. “Believe me, I love you.”

She was about to say she wouldn’t allow herself to ever believing him again when his lips suddenly met hers and he cradled the back of her head very gently as his mouth pressed hers, working in a rhythm that took her breath away. Mindlessly, Rose parted her lips, letting his tongue slip inside as he pulled her closer, moulding his body to hers. She could have forgotten about everything if wasn’t for the fact someone else entered the kitchen just a couple of seconds later.

“You’re just like your friend, aren’t you?” Belle gasped full of hatred. “What do you two think you’ll win with this? Money?”

Rose pulled away from Roland. In most days, she would have run away from her employee’s disapproval, but not today and mainly not when she was talking this way about her.

“I was kissing him, not selling myself, Ms. French!”

“Belle have you seen…” another woman started, stepping in with a huge black folder opened on her hands, but as soon as she felt the tension in the kitchen, she looked up at them, asking: “What is happening in here?”

“Ask your son, Regina,” Belle answered, giving an annoyed look to the two of them. “He was just about to lay down one of our models.”

That was the last thing Rose needed right now, she felt sick just to be standing there under their judgmental glances. It was like she suddenly had become very tiny and helpless and all she wanted was to have somebody to run back to when she finally managed to leave this place. But she had no one other than her friends.

“Roland what is your problem?” Regina asked, incredulously. “What about Ivy?”

“I don’t love Ivy mother, I’ve never loved her,” the boy replied, taking Rosalie’s hand firmly in his. “You and father pushed me to her because she was Victoria Belfrey’s daughter. I love Rose.”

“Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t know what is right for yourself,” his mother corrected, before glancing back at her. “And what about you, Rosalie? I though you weren’t like Jacinda.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but for a few seconds no sound came out, because she realised it was the truth. Nobody should be judging her friend for that affair with Henry because she had done pretty much the same thing, but worst, Rose hadn’t been smart enough to avoid a pregnancy.

“I’m not, I am…”

“Fired,” Belle concluded. “You are fired.”

“No, please, Ms. French, I need this job. Now more than never.”

Tears started to fall from her eyes as Rose thought without this she would definitely be lost. She wouldn’t have money for the rent, for food or anything else and eventually she would have one choice left: give her baby to adoption.

“You should have thought about this before offering yourself to a betrothed man.”

Belle disappeared from the kitchen like a summer storm, high heels making muffled noises against the floor as she made her way to wherever she was going and Regina stepped back, a serious expression on her face as she grabbed her son’s arm.

“I want to speak to you,” she said. “Now.”

“Rose…”

“You’ve done enough, Roland,” the girl murmured, ready to start packing her things. “Get the hell away from me.”

It was the last time they saw each other in quite a while.

* * *

 

“I hate her,” Rosalie cried, falling to the chair in front of Father Gold’s desk. “I hate her so much.”

He had been busy with a huge book, which he immediately closed and threw inside a drawer when she came in and Rose could tell, even without seeing the title that it wasn’t the Bible. She didn’t know why she kept coming there, but he was such a nice person who always knew what to say to get her to feel better that visiting weekly had became a necessity to her.

“Who are we talking about?”

“Miss French, she fired me,” Rose answered with a sniff. “What am I going to do now, Father? Without a job I don’t have how to raise my child.”

He stood up walking towards her and pulling the hair away from her face, he kneeled in front of her touching her wet cheek with care, his worried eyes not failing in show her how much she was dear to him.

“Slow down, breath in,” Father Gold commanded. “Don’t worry, alright? I’ve told you before, I will help you.”

“I know and it is very nice of you, but you don’t have to feel responsible for me, Father. I’m just the stupid abandoned girl who keeps coming here to cry on your shoulder.”

He shook his head. Little did she now she was far more than that and he wished he could offer her a shelter and provide her everything she and the child would need without it sounding way too weird. But she was still his daughter and he wouldn’t abandon her again, nor he would let this hate for Belle keep growing like a poison. He needed to help them fixing things.

“I want to do it, alright? And I bet you will soon find another job.”

She nodded, but he knew she didn’t believe a single word he said, because she was too desperate to have hope. And he couldn’t blame her. Gold felt the same way.

* * *

 

“So, what do you think?”

Rosalie took another sip of her orange juice, considering the offer for a brief second, knowing it wouldn’t be exactly easy to do all the work that guy Louis expected them to, but knowing it was what she needed to do in order to keep her child – and Rose was willing to do anything to prevent that baby from having the same fate as her, growing up without a family.

“I’ll accept, of course, it’s my only option, Sabine.”

The other girl clapped happily, picking her phone to send a message to Louis and tell him Rose was going to start by Monday. She was supposed to clean, sell chicken and sometimes fry it too, but if Sabine could do it, then of course Rose could too.

In the other end of the breakfast table Jacinda sighed, giving Rosalie the same guilty look she had been shooting at her ever since the girl was fired.

“I’m sorry for causing you all that trouble.”

“It wasn’t your fault, J. I recklessly slept with Roland,” Rose shrugged. “I brought this on myself.”

She had a hand pressed to her stomach, rubbing at it unstoppably. Jacinda’s eyes fell to her now growing bump and she took a few seconds to decide if she should ask her what she meant or not, but ended up opting to do so.

“Won’t you tell Roland?”

“No, I’ve seen how horrible their world is and I don’t want my child to grow up surrounded by those people.”

Rose hadn’t been so sincere in weeks.

* * *

 

She worked relentlessly at Louis’ for about two months. It was a tiring job and she spent the whole day up in her feet, which caused her to have an aching body most time. But at least she was getting money, she had taken gone to the doctor seeing her child on the ultrasound machine and assure it was growing healthy. Soon she would be able to start buying little clothes for it.

“Rosalie, hey,” a male voice took her from her musings and Rose shifted back to reality, showing a smile for the guy in front of the counter.

“Hey Gideon, nice to see you.”

He had passed unnoticed, having lunch with a dark-haired boy she had never seen before, but he had seen her and come there to have a little chat. It would have frightened Rose if it wasn’t for the fact she knew he and Alice were way nicer than Belle.

“I’m sorry to hear about what my mother did to you,” Gideon started. “You didn’t deserve any of this.”

“Thank you,” Rose said, happy that the counter hid her growing belly. “I’ve heard _he_ got married.”

“Yeah, but he is not happy,” Gideon guaranteed, before the boy called for him and he took some steps away. “See you around.”

Rose smiled to him, watching as the two boys walked out of the diner, when suddenly a jolt of pain crossed her body and she had to lean against the counter to keep herself on her feet, but her vision was already getting blurry as another pain came.

“Sabine,” she yelled to the kitchen in despair.

In a quick second, the other girl was there, pressing a hand to her back. “Rose, what is happening?”

She tried to say that she had no idea, but that she needed help, instead Rose fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roland finds out Rose is pregnant.

She was looking around the white corridors with terrified eyes. Jacinda hated hospitals, she felt as if they were ominous places that always preceded bad knew, at least it had been like that when her step-father was shot and when her mother died with cancer. The girl shivered just to think. She prayed nothing worse happened with Rosalie and the baby, but deep down she feared it might happen anyway, so when she saw a known face in the middle of all those haunted ones at the waiting room, she almost jumped in his arms.

“Jacinda?” Henry asked, walking to her direction by the moment he saw her standing there worried and anxious. “What are you doing here? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it’s Rose,” she explained, feeling rather grateful when both his hands came up to stroke her arms. “But what are you doing here?”

Henry’s eyes closed for a brief second, his lips tightening in a thin line and for the first time she noticed how tense he was, not to say looking very tired with those dark circles under his eyes. The neckline of his shirt was slightly crumpled as she had never seen before and Jacinda started to get concerned about him too.

“I just came to bring somethings to my brother, he has been here with Ivy for two days now. She got herself into a car accident and lost the baby,” he sighed. “It was horrible.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Jacinda said in awe, barely believing his words. “I just hope that same doesn’t happen with Rose…”

It was weird how fate had a dark sense of humour. Both Rose and Ivy were there, at the same hospital, at the same time, one having lost Roland’s child and the other facing an uncertain fate, for both her and the baby. But in the middle of her despair, she hadn’t realised she had spoken way too much and now Henry was staring at her with wide eyes.

“Wait, Rosalie is pregnant?”

“Henry, you can’t tell it to anyone,” Jacinda begged, internally quacking herself for revealing her friend’s secret so easily. “She is inside there and she is in a really bad condition.”

He opened his mouth, meaning to say something, when a very worried Father Gold crossed the hallway like crazy, reaching them in a swift second, the lines in his face accentuated by his affliction.

“Where is she?”

“Father Gold, it is really good to see you,” Jacinda said, breathing lighter now that he was there, because the closest thing Rose had to a family. “The doctors took her inside and we haven’t seen her since them. Sabine is looking for a nurse or doctor, someone who can tell us what is happening.”

He nodded, desperately saying: “I’ll do the same.”

She watched him go to the counter to annoy some of the hospital attendants and looked back to the place where her lover had been just a minute ago. But there was no one there. Henry was gone and she bet he had rushed to wherever Roland was to tell him about Rose’s pregnancy.

“Oh, no.”

* * *

 

Rosalie woke up to blindly lights, she sighed deeply, feeling her body sore and languid. Her eyelids trembled and she looked around the white room she didn’t really recognise and immediately felt a hand wrapping on hers. When Rose moved her head to look at her right side, she saw her favourite priest was there, looking really worried, his brow narrowed as he traced the monitor on her index finger and accompanying the line of the needles up in her arm, but when he noticed she was awake a little smile spread on his lips.

“It seems you tired yourself down,” he whispered.

“Father Gold, hi,” Rose murmured, a little bit sleepy, her free hand coming up to cover her belly. “Is my baby alright?”

“Just fine,” the priest agreed. “But you are not going to work in that place anymore, you’re slowly killing yourself and the child. I’ve made a few calls and I know someone who lives near the beach and he is willing to take you in for a few months, until the baby is born.”

She furrowed at his words, angry that he thought she needed to be treated as if she was the child herself, but Rose didn’t have parents, so she couldn’t know that a worried parent would always see its daughter as a little girl, even when she was twenty-one and about to become a mother. He moved his hand, laying it on her bump and smiled, however Rose was still confused and also a little resented.

“Are you sending me away?”

Her voice sounded about to break, shaky with her need to cry. Gold touched her forehead, shaking his head at her.

“You need to rest. Neal is a really nice guy and he’ll take care of you, then you can come back.”

The girl didn’t know if she should feel grateful or not, but one thing she understood was that maybe he was right about the fact she needed to rest. Rosalie didn’t want to cause her baby any harm and she knew her current job was too hard for a pregnant woman. She breathed in, trying to calm down the maddening beat of her heart when the door of the room was slammed suddenly open and she shifted in place, seeing her ex-boyfriend step in with a mesmerized expression.

“Rose…”

A gasp left her mouth and she blinked incredulously. Father Gold moved to look up at the boy with some kind of anger is his eyes that she was pretty sure a priest shouldn’t wear.

“Roland? What are you doing here?”

“Is it mine?” He immediately asked, pointing at her growing stomach. “Are you expecting my child?”

“No,” she denied.

A part of her wondered how the hell he had ended up there and how he discovered she was to have a baby, but she would certainly kill the person who opened its mouth to tell Roland the truth. He had chosen another future and he should remain with his wife. This child was only hers. And nobody else’s.

“You’re lying! I know you are,” Roland yelled, angrily. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Suddenly, Father Gold stood up, stopping in front of him with defying narrowed eyes, looking so dangerous that Rose shrunk, holding herself on the bed as she stared at them, afraid of how this mess could end.

“Get out, boy,” Gold commanded. “She just woke up, she is not feeling alright and you are not helping with anything.”

“I won’t get out until she explains me everything. I have the right to know.”

“You don’t,” Rosalie said, feeling the tears already burning her eyes. “I was going to tell you, Roland, but then you broke up with me and married Ivy. Now you should go, be happy with her and forget about me.”

All of his anger seemed to vanish away, Roland’s shoulders fell down and he shook his head incredulously, making her remember why she had fell in love with him at first. He was a sweet boy and those puppy eyes he made when he was sad about something make her want to give in.

“I – I can’t. Rosie, we’re going to have a baby.”

“If you don’t get out, I’ll take you out,” Father Gold grunted at him again.

For another moment, Roland kept staring at her, but noticing that she had already made her decision, he waved his head, as if disappointed with her and left the hospital room, closing the door behind himself. The priest came back to her side, watching as she started to weep against the pillow.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?”

“Take me away from here,” Rose begged. “Please.”

* * *

 

On Sunday after the morning mass, Father Gold sat in a bench outside the church looking at the gardens with a lost glance. He had sent his daughter away. He knew she was safe, but he couldn’t avoid the pain that letting her go caused him, because he felt as if he was abandoning her once more. Gold wished he could be there for her when his grandchild was born and more than that, he wished Belle could share this moment with them.

That was why he was sat there, staring at the red roses, thinking about how much he would anger his mother – and maybe God himself – if he did what he was intending too, when he saw her, walking towards him like a daydream. She was wearing a red dress, a dangerous temptation, long tresses falling down her shoulders.

“So, your little _protégé_ is with child,” Belle started, throwing her head back to warm her face with the sunlight. “Classic way of trying to get the rich boy.”

“You shouldn’t judge her, Isabelle,” he said, carefully, “you’ve gotten pregnant the same way once.”

She looked back at him, angry and bitter again, a simple glance making his heart get wrecked inside his chest. Belle had lost her kindness, her innocent, her sweetness. He wished he could take her in his arms, kiss every inch of her and assure his beloved that life should be taken easier, even when they were facing tough times.

“A priest should be nicer.”

“I not much of a priest since I’ve came back to Storybrooke,” Gold confessed with a snort. “But what brings you here today?”

Taking a seat by his side, Belle clasped her hands on her lap, worrying at her lip, a mannerism time hadn’t been able to erase from her, which was good, because meant that somewhere deep inside of her, his Belle was still hidden and locked away, prevented from coming up to surface.

“I have a new detective looking for our daughter, he is a good one. Promised me a quick answer.”

“I hope you find it, so maybe you can see some of the mistakes you’re making.”

There was a sigh coming from her. She knew he disapproved the fact she had fired Rosalie and a lot of other things, like her drinking to forget her problems, so for that reason, she didn’t say anything else, just kept sat by his side for a while more.

* * *

 

The truck stopped in front of the church and Rose almost squealed with happiness. She was finally there and she couldn’t be happier. However, by her side, Neal seemed a bit tense, hands clasped on the steering wheel and he looked at her by the corners of his eyes.

“Father Gold is going to kill me when he sees us.”

Rose laughed out loud.

“Come on, Neal, are you afraid of the priest?”

“Yes,” he confessed with a small chuckle.

Rolling her eyes at him, Rose opened the door and jumped off the car, leaning against the window.

“Well, go take those things to my apartment. I’ll see you later.”

Neal waved his head positively and Rosalie departed from the car, watching as he started to drive again and disappeared by the end of the street, before she turned around to take those few steps to the church. She peeked a look inside, but there was no one around.

“Hello?”

“Rosalie?” Father Gold’s voice came from his study just a second before he appeared by the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve realised I have to be ashamed about,” the girl shrugged. “I don’t need to hide from anyone.”

He stepped closer, smiling sweetly at her. It was the first time they saw each other in long months and Gold couldn’t help but contemplate how much she had changed. Rose had cut her hair a bit and straightened it – which he hoped not to be permanent, because he loved her Belle-ish curls – the imp dress she wore was way more cheerful than the dark colours she used to wear while working as a model.

“Aye, you’re right, my child, you don’t have reasons to hide yourself,” the priest agreed, looking down at her belly then. “And I see this wee bairn is growing strong.”

“Yeah, it won’t be long now,” Rosalie smiled.

“Come here,” he said opening his arms for her. “I’ve missed you.”

* * *

 

Belle French was sat on the couch, looking down at the black folders her detective had just brought to her. He had been gone for almost half an hour now, but she didn’t find the right courage to open it, both because she feared the possibility of him being wrong and because she didn’t really know what to do with that information.

“What are you doing?” Gideon asked, coming from the kitchen to sit by her side.

She sighed deeply. Belle had always been sincere with her children about the baby she abandoned, but it didn’t mean she liked to talk about that, however Gideon was very good boy and he deserved a truthful answer.

“The detective brought me some files,” she explained. “He thinks he found my daughter.”

“Oh,” the boy mumbled. “Won’t you read it?”

Shaking her head, she opened a drawer next to her and threw the file inside. Standing up and gesturing for him to follow her, because it would be way better to be out and forget for a bit than to face her problems.

“Not now. I think I need some time to prepared myself.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose comes back to Storybrooke.  
> Belle and Gold have a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys I think this is a very pleasing chapter - at least it was to write. I probably won't be able to update until Sunday night, but I'll be working on the next one and on The Parent Trap too ;).

The thing Rose was starting to hate about supermarkets were the kids section and not because she didn’t like to look at small clothes and funny toys as think about her baby with them, but because Neal was way better at doing that than she was and it was pretty annoying, mainly when he wanted to buy everything he saw. Neal was a photographer who always carried his big professional camera wherever they went to, he had been an orphan like her, apparently his parents drank way too much and couldn’t take care of a child properly.

He ended up in an orphanage near where Father Gold presided some masses, and became quite fond of him, even thought of joining the church and becoming a priest himself, but them he met a girl, Emma, and totally gave up this idea. His love for taking pictures had owed him a few amazing jobs at great magazines among other things and he bought a camp house where he now lived with his wife and son.

Emma had seen no problem in him coming to Storybrooke for a while to help Rose and she had been really nice to her during the months she spent there. Actually, Neal’s wife was hoping Rosalie could convince him to buy an apartment for them in town, so she could be near her parents and everything else, other than hide near the mountains. She thought it was a great idea, but as Neal showed her the tenth blue bear that day, Rose sighed, quite tired of it and making a mental note to never come to a supermarket with him again.

"Alright, what do you think about this one?"

"Way too blue?" Rose tried. "Neal, you can't buy the whole boy section when we don't even know what this baby is, yet!"

"We could've known if you hadn't insisted it should a surprise."

"Like Christmas morning presents," she completed.

She rolled her eyes at him, taking the stuffed animal from his hands and placing it back to the shelve, decided to not buy a single thing that couldn’t be used by both boys and girls. If she wanted a surprise she would have it.

"This is a child, Rosalie, not a doll," Neal complained. "Come on, I'll pay for another ultrasound if you let me know!"

"Seriously?" Rose arched an eyebrow to him, shaking her head. "The answer remains the same."

"I hate you!"

"You're a grown-up baby!"

Rosalie never had siblings, although she shared her life with a lot of other kids who lived at the same orphanage as her, but they never stayed there for long. She was one of those unlucky children who stayed there forever, never been chosen by whoever came to visit the place, trying to chose their future kid. In the begging she was just not what they wanted, then she was too old and soon enough she was facing the world all alone. However, Neal felt like a big brother to her. He was really nice, despite of how much he tried to annoy her a day, and he took care of her, made sure she and her child wished for nothing and she knew he didn’t do all of this just because Father Gold asked him to. Neal was one of the kindest persons she had ever known in her life.

She was rubbing the big mound of her stomach, feeling some kicks, as she averted her gaze to the girl section, giving a quick look to all of those pink things and products she didn’t even know to exist until she became pregnant, before her world was shattered again.

"Rose, you're back," Roland de Locksley said a smile that was somewhat full of hope, playing on his lips.

"Yes," the world escaped her, barely a whispered.

The girl took some steps back, reaching for Neal’s hand and gripping it tight, as if he was her safe haven and would protect her from everything – which she knew he truly would. Roland came closed, eyes fixed in her belly.

"When will the baby be born?"

"Soon, I think."

"Oh, Rose,” the boy breathed, walking the rest of the small distance to her and cupping one of her shoulders as his other hand laid on her stomach, causing the baby to kick. “Let me be there for you and our child."

She couldn’t breathe. This closeness between them he whole body tense and a lump form in her throat, but she didn’t need to take this for too long, because in the next second Neal was storming out with Roland, pushing him away with an angry frown.

"Step back and take your hands off her."

"Who the hell are you? Her body-guard?"

"I can guarantee I'm more than that," Neal assured.

Roland’s eyes narrowed as he looked between them, noticing how over-protective about her, Neal was. Rose knew that in his mind there was only one answer and it certainly wasn’t the truth, because Roland could never guess how and why she met that guy, nor that he was in fact a married man with a son to raise.

"Are you two together?"

"We should go home Neal," Rose said, taking his hand and trying to drag him away as he continued to stare dangerously a Roland.

"No, you can't replace me with him! _I'm_ this baby's father!"

"Forget about me, Roland,” Rosalie remarked fiercely, “because you'll never be a part of this child's life."

Then, she finally managed to convince Neal to go away.

* * *

 

Driving to Belle’s house was the last thing Father Gold expected to be doing on a Wednesday night. When she had called him earlier, crying and barely managing to speak between her sobs, the only thing he managed to understand was that she needed him and she needed now. He didn’t think much about what he was doing as he got inside the car, making his way to the place which he had never been to before, but knew its localization as Belle was pretty famous in town and most people did know where she lived.

He jumped off the Cadillac, taking fast steps to her doorstep and knocking repeatedly, worried about what could have happened to her. The last time he had seen her broken like she seemed to be when they talked, was the night she appeared drunk at the church, yelling a bunch of bad things at him. Gold was really terrified of how he would find her today, so every second he waited for the door to be open was a small eternity for him.

"Adam," Belle mumbled when she finally appeared, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her face on his chest, leaving him without reaction for a moment, before he carded his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer in an attempt to give her some kind of comfort.

"Sweetheart, what happened? You sounded wrecked on the phone and now you look so pale!"

A deep sob came from her as Belle dragged him inside the house, kicking the door shut behind them. She fell to the couch and Gold kneeled beside her, wiping the tears away from her face and noticing the soft lines that had appeared in it along the years, an inevitable reminding that time had passed. It didn’t make her any less beautiful to his eyes, though, and he knew the years had been way gentler with her appearance than they were with him.

"I know the truth," Belle breathed. "Rosalie Weaver is our daughter."

He nodded emphatically, holding both her hands in his and, pressing his forehead to them, a silent pleading for forgiveness.

"Aye, that she is."

"She hates me," his beloved continued. "I've been cruel to her, I've fire her and now I know she is the little girl I’ve abandoned all those years ago. How will she ever be able to forgive me?"

The answer could have been obvious to anyone: she wouldn’t. But Gold couldn’t let himself believe that he would never seen mother and daughter having a great relationship. They were his family, everything he had ever loved in his life and he would make sure Rose knew how much her mother loved her and deserved her forgiveness.

"Rose is a good girl,” he said, “she eventually will."

"She is pregnant," Belle mumbled, fingers pulling his greying hair away from his face as her tears continued falling unstoppably.

"Yeah, you're are going to be a grandmother."

Sliding to the edge of the sofa, so she was closer to him, Belle continued to pet the priest’s hair, but her glance was lost in an invisible point, trying to deal with the pain burning her from inside. From all girls in this world, her daughter had to be the one she most mistreated and plotted to ruin. _God, she was no better than Fiona!_ Maybe she was worse, as she had done all those things to her own daughter, blood of her blood.

"I want to go to her and tell her everything, but I don't think it is the right time."

"You're probably right," Gold agreed, stroking her thigh through the fabric of her dress. "But it will come and you'll have to be strong, Belle."

"I'm afraid," she whispered in a broken voice.

He cupped her face, giving her a look full of compassion, eyes shining with kindness and even something more, something she didn’t know she could still find there, and when the worlds slipped out of his mouth in that wonderful accent of his, Belle’s heart raced with something other than fear in a long, long time.

"Oh, my love, I know it."

"Say that again," she pleaded. " _My love_."

Then Gold made a decision, one that would change everything and probably wreck his relationship with his mother forever: he leaned on and kissed Belle. It was strange and messy, years of celibate making him feel completely inexperienced, but once their lips touched, there was only blinding need to follow. He forgot about his vows, his future and everything else. There was only her and suddenly he was only a man again. He was freeing himself, from something he had been forced to choose.

"My one true love," Adam murmured against Belle’s lips.

And that was what he would be from now on. Just Adam.

* * *

 

Rose checked her purse for the second time, finding her keys and peeking a look inside the bedroom she shared with Sabine and Jacinda to see Neal comfortably laid in her bed, his laptop opened as he typed something in it, eyes focused on the scream.

"Neal, I'm going to the grocery store, do you want something?"

"No, thank you," he said, directing a wide smile at her and adding in a secrecy tone: "I'm looking for some apartments on the internet."

"Well, good luck with that!"

She was happy he had chosen to stay in Storybrooke, because after all those months, she considered him one of her best friend and it would be nice to have another child around to play with hers when it was old enough. Little Henry was a cute little thing and she had lots of fun making him giggle. Rosalie smiled to herself as she made her way to the door, getting out of the flat and locking it before she walked through the hallway, almost jumping with surprise when she found the short-haired girl climbing up the stairs.

"Hello, Rose."

"Ivy?” She blinked. “What are you doing here? And how the hell did you get my address?"

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not. So, what do you want?"

Ivy took a careful step closer. She was all dressed in black: a patterned dress, leather jacket and heeled boots, the bright pink lipstick, the only happy thing on her face. She still looked the very same from months ago, when the two of them met – expect for the now flat belly – but the circles around her eyes and the way they were fixed in her, sent chills through Rosalie’s body.

"I've lost my baby," Ivy murmured, dangerously slow, her tone cold and emotionless.

"I know, Jacinda told me and I'm really sorry."

She made and sound of disdain, eyes falling to Rose’s swollen middle-section, which made the girl cover it with both hands in a protective gesture.

"You see, Rosalie, we have a little problem in here, because you are still going to have a child and Roland thinks he still have a change of being a father."

"Listen,” Rose started, trying to keep calm. “I've told him to forget me a thousand times."

"Yeah, but that didn't work,” Ivy retorted. “And I know you think you can this get him using this little bastard."

Breathing in, Rose decided she had enough of it. Nobody called her child a bastard and she wasn’t willing to keep hearing the stupid things Ivy had to say, because it wouldn’t make her no good. If she wanted Roland, she could keep him, they had already gotten married, hadn’t they? He was meant to be hers, forever.

"I'm not interested in your husband, now if you excuse me, I have things to do."

Rose went to the staircase, ignoring the fact that Ivy was following her, still shouting nonsense.

"You're going to see him, aren't you?"

"What? Are you mad?" Rosalie asked, turning around to see her. "Haven't you heard anything I said?"

"Roland likes you, not me," Ivy assured.

"But I don't want him anymore!"

"Liar!"

She didn’t get a hold on the handrail in time, in a second Rose was standing in a step, trying to understand what was wrong with that girl, and in the other, Ivy had pushed her back and she lost her balance, rolling down the stairs. Her head hit the floor hard and for a while everything went black, but then she woke up, a horrible pain coming from her belly, the dizziness making her feel she could faint again at any time. Thankfully, she noticed there was someone beside her and it wasn’t Ivy.

"Rose?" Neal asked. "Oh no, what happened?"

"Pain," she mumbled. "Help, please."

Nodding, Neal took her in his arms, rushing to his truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I burn in hell for changing somethings in the plot of the soap-opera so Rumbelle could be together? LOL.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose gives birth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't really believe I've finished this chapter in time. I've spent the whole day struggling with anxiety and only now I felt good enough to sit here and continue working. I really hope this horrible feeling will just go away, so tomorrow I'm back to feeling normal.  
> My problems aside, the baby is here and I hope you guys like the name!

Neal was sat completely alone in the waiting room, staring nervously at his hands, he had spoken to Emma just a couple of minutes ago – and she giggling asked him to not faint like he had when she went into labour – but that hadn’t helped with anything. Nobody would allow him to see Rose – he wasn’t related to her nor was he the father of the baby – so he had to stay there and watch the hours pass.

After what seemed to be a whole eternity for him, Jacinda appeared, bringing her lover and his brother with her. His jaw clenched at the sight of Roland coming with them following Henry like a little dog, as if he didn’t have a wife home and as if Rose hadn’t yet let it clear that she didn’t want him to keep seeking for her.

"What is he doing here?"

"He was with Henry and I when you called," Jacinda explained. "He insisted to come."

"Rose doesn't want him anywhere near her!"

Roland stepped forward, looking as angry as Neal felt. If they weren’t in a hospital in such complicated circumstances, he swore he would have already punch that boy and made him leave.

"I don't know who the hell do you think you are, but Rosalie is having _my child_ and I will, yes, stay."

Taking a deep breath, Neal grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, decided to not let Roland stay there, even if nobody allowed him inside Rose’s room, because he didn’t want her to go through any kind of stress right now, however, before he could start to drag Roland out, Father Gold appeared, giving him the kind of look that made him immediately step back.

"Stop, the two of you, stop now," the priest commanded, then looked around to see Sabine arriving too and arched an eyebrow to him. "Did you call everybody she knows, Neal?"

"I was desperate," he said, shrinking and narrowing his eyes at the woman beside Gold. "Who is this?"

"She is the one who is going away," Jacinda answered in a tone full of hate, giving the priest an incredulous glance. "Father Gold, this bitch did everything she could to bring hell to Rose's life. Why did you bring her?"

The woman, who Neal now supposed to be Ms. French shifted closer to Father Gold, yes glued on the floor, making him think she felt ashamed of everything she had done.

"This is a question for another time," the priest answered. "Now, where is Rose?"

"In labour yard, they won't allow anybody in. We need to wait."

And inevitably, that’s what they did.

* * *

 

Rose cradled the baby close to her chest, marvelling at how tiny and perfect she was, nestled inside a soft white blanket a pink hat on the top of her head. She took one of her hands analysing the small fingers with a smile before she pressed a kiss to the baby's forehead.

"Hello, little princess," Rose cooed to her daughter. "I've been waiting to meet you."

There was a tiny sound coming from her as the little girl moved around, hiding her face on the blanket and Rose giggled, changing her position, so the baby would be more comfortable. Most of the nurses had already left, just one of them remaining in the room Rose was meant to spend the night in, finishing to settle some things out before leaving. She stopped by Rose's bed, giving her a smile.

"Do you want me to bring somebody to see you, Ms. Weaver? There is a bit of a commotion in your name outside. Maybe the father?"

"No," Rosalie answered. "There is a priest in here, Father Gold. I'd like to see him."

"Alright," the nurse nodded, opening the door and disappearing through it.

Once she was gone, Rose's attention went back to the baby. The early events of that day were almost completely forgotten by her, because that really mattered was that her daughter was alright. It had been a painful and terrifying labour, as it all happened too fast and the doctors were afraid her fall had caused some damage to her of the baby, but apparently, despite of the bruises covering all the skin of her left side and the wound in her head, everything was fine.

"You're going to meet someone very special," she told her daughter to which the baby yawned. "Are you sleepy?"

The door crackled open and Father Gold entered the room, smiling widely at her, as if he was seen the sun for the first time in ages. His whole face was illuminated in a way she had never seen before.

"Excuse me?"

"Come in, Father, come see her."

He stepped closer, taking a seat on the chair next to her bed and as he looked down at the baby, Rose swore she saw tears in his eyes.

"Oh, you've had a girl," the priest murmured in awe. "She is beautiful, Rose."

"Thank you," Rosalie answered, then lifted the baby, handing her to him, who looked completely unsure of what to do, so she explained: "I would like to ask something of you. Here hold her."

Father Gold finally nodded and received the baby girl in his arms, cradling her head and staring at her will eyes full of wonder as he marvelled at this tiny new human being.

"What do you want, dearest?"

"Name her," Rose asked.

The priest blinked, surprised at the request, which he certainly wasn't expecting.

"What?"

"Give her a name," she explained reaching to touch his arm. "You helped me so much, I would be really important to me if you named her."

His heart was beating fast inside his chest. He could barely believe his daughter was asking this of him and suddenly something came to his mind. Adam looked at his granddaughter once more, before he lifted his glance to Rosalie, the perfect name on the tip of his tongue.

"Isabelle."

"Oh, Father Gold, please not this one," Rose begged. "You know how much I still resent Ms. French."

"Yes, I know, but if your daughter has this name, then you'll start to learn how to forgive by saying it with love other than hate."

She took a deep breath, giving it a second thought. The name was in fact a beautiful one and the only thing keeping her from agreeing immediately with the priest's choice was the fact it was Ms. French's name. But she couldn't restrain her life to things that didn't remember her about painful things in her past, if that was the name Father Gold had chosen, then that it would be.

"Isabelle," Rose pronounced. "Little Izzy she will be."

A giant smile spread on the priest's lips and he gently lifted the baby, pressing a kiss to her rosy cheek.

"Welcome to the world Izzy, it is a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

 

Adam found Belle in the parking lot, turning off her cell phone and throwing it inside her purse with a soft frown narrowing her brow. He walked towards her, admiring how beautiful she looked in that lacy yellow dress, almost resembling the old Belle. He certainly couldn't wait until it all was over and he was no priest anymore, so he could final properly claim her as his.

"It was Regina," Belle said as soon as she saw him. "Apparently Roland called her crying like a baby because he hasn’t yet met his daughter. Henry took him home a while ago."

He nodded fiercely, but he wasn’t caring much about Roland right now. Actually, he didn’t like him that much, because of everything he had done to Rose, however Gold needed to admit that he should be up there in that hospital room beside her and the baby. Rosalie may not be willing to say it now, but that was what she wanted too and deep down, what she truly needed.

"She is a pretty thing, our granddaughter," Adam started. "Her name is Isabelle."

"What?"

"Izzy for short," he added.

Tears shined in her eyes as she blinked repeatedly before they started to fall down her face and she passed her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest as Adam’s hand came up to caress he hair.

"You did this, don't you?"

"Maybe," he shrugged, trying to hid a little smirk, but it didn’t matter if it was Rose’s choice or his, Belle’s name had been passed to their granddaughter he was sure that little girl would love her very much. "I'll make things work out between you and Rose. I promise. And I will resign as soon as everything is settled down. I've already spent too much time away from you."

She looked up at him, kissing his jaw before pulling away, knowing that right now their relationship must remain in secret as he still was a priest and anybody who saw them together would be scandalized.

"If you want to be with me, you'll have to ask Gideon and Alice's permission first."

"I surely will," he promised, before opening the door of the Cadillac for her and take her home.

* * *

 

Rose stayed in the hospital for about four days, as the doctors were still worried about her because of the fall and the Izzy because she had come earlier than she should. But two days ago, Neal had driven them home to a big welcome back party, full of pink presents, balloons and a delicious cake, however now she was alone, the girls were working, Neal was looking for apartments and she needed to take care of her daughter.

Izzy was a really calm baby, but Rose didn’t manage to get much sleep yet, because when she wasn’t nursing her, she was just staring at the baby, making sure she was breathing properly and she wouldn’t disappear if she blinked her eyes. It was still weird to think Izzy was there, when she hadn’t existed for those long years of her life, however she felt good to have her there. She would do right by her child and Isabelle would never have to life with all the doubts she did.

Placing her down on the basket near the couch, Rose went to the kitchen and opened some cabinets, looking for a quick snack when she heard the knock on her door and struggled to close a box of tea with a particularly difficult lid

"Just a minute," she yelled, but yet again, someone knocked. "I'm coming!"

Giving up on the box, she went to the door, opening it to find Roland behind, holding a giant bouquet of red roses in one hand and a big purple bear that wore a shirt with the phrase “I love daddy” on the other.

"Hey, may I come in?"

Rose took a deep breath, looking away from his presents and his big puppy eyes, trying to remember herself that for her own sake, she should stay the farthest away from his that she could.

"Roland, you and your wife have already caused me too much trouble. I just want to have some peace!"

"My wife?" He blinked. "You have only seen Ivy a couple of times at the company!"

"Oh, I see she haven't told you about her little visit,” Rose started, sarcastically, eyes narrowing at him. “Well, my labour started earlier because Ivy pushed me down the stairs."

His eyes got wide and he entered the flat without her permission, placing the flowers and the bear on the counter as he turned around to see her, trying to understand this new information.

"She did what?"

"Yeah, Roland, your daughter and I almost died because of your mad, _mad_ wife!"

He shook his head, cupping her shoulders and stroking her through the fabric of her blouse, which almost made Rose want to close her eyes and give into his calming touch. Everything would be easier if he had been honest with her right from the start.

"Love, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he whispered in a sweet tone. "I just want to see the baby. _Please_."

Against her best will, Rose sighed and murmured: "You have five minutes."

An excited smile appeared on his lips as Roland turned around, walking towards the basket and taking his first look at their daughter. He sat on the couch touching Isabelle’s tiny hands and marvelling at how her small fingers curled around this thumb. Roland looked up slightly confused.

"How should I..."

Very gently, Rose lifted the baby, handing her to the father.

"Support the head," she instructed. "Be careful."

Roland nodded eagerly, taking a hold of Isabelle and nestling her against the cold fabric of his brown leather jacket. Her eyes flew open, brown and deep, so dark that they were almost black.

"Oh, hi, Izzy. I'm your dad, sweetie and I promise we will be together."

Rose shook her head to his silly words, however she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him, cradling their baby in his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izzy is missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay, this has been a complicate week, but I'm glad I've finally managed to put this up and I'll be posting The Parent Trap tomorrow.

Rosalie hadn’t seen the light of the day out of her apartment ever since she came back from the hospital, but she wasn’t complaining about it at all. She had lots to do and even more to think about, so Rose didn’t feel bored at all, even more having Izzy with her, she loved watching her and simply marvelling at the fact she existed. Her daughter was perfect and she would do anything for her.

However, after some weeks, Rose knew she should eventually start to leave Izzy to the care of other people so she would get used to it, instead of having her attending her needs all the time, because after all, she would need to eventually find a new job. Father Gold and Neal couldn’t keep providing for them forever, so she thought she should start with small things like going out to buy ibuprofen, the only thing helping her with the constant headaches caused by the sleepless nights.

Checking her purse one last time to make sure everything was still where she left it, Rosalie looked up at Jacinda, who was tendering Isabelle, sighing a lullaby in Spanish, appearing to be lost in thoughts when Rose spoke again, asking the same thing she had been repeating for the past few minutes.

"Are you sure you can deal with her?"

"Rose the drugstore is across the street,” Jacinda answered with a roll of her eyes, “I can't possibly kill Izzy in the few minutes you'll be away."

"Alright, alright,” Rosalie mumbled, taking a deep breath to try calming herself a bit. “I'll be back soon."

Telling herself she should relax, Rose left the apartment making her way downstairs and then going to the drugstore. She forced herself not to take the medicine and go back home as soon as she payed for it, Rose breathed in and out taking a look at the new make-up products before finally crossing the street back to her building where she found Neal wandering near the front door.

"Hey, Rosie,” he immediately said with fake humour, walking towards her and grabbing her arm, trying to get her out of the building again, “let's get a coffee, huh?"

"Coffee?” Rosalie asked, slightly confused. “No, thanks, I really need to get upstairs, it is almost time for Izzy's next feed."

Neal’s eyes got closed for a second and he stroke her skin in a compulsive way, as if he was trying to comfort both of them at the same time, but all he got was to get Rose even more confused.

"No, dear, you don't want to go upstairs."

"Oh, Neal, thank God you're here,” said Father Gold who was coming from down the street, “Jacinda was really scared on the phone, I didn't get a word she said."

Furrowing, Rose looked between the two of them, recognising the panic in their faces, which made her heart start beating faster.

"Father, what is going on?"

"Rosalie,” Neal started, “Izzy is gone."

She blinked, his words not making any sense to her for long seconds, it was like her brain had just stopped working at all. He must be wrong, Rose thought, Izzy was safe home, someone was taking care of her and she had just left for a couple of minutes, nothing could have really happened.

"What do you mean? Jacinda was watching her."

"Yeah, but a neighbour called and she left the baby alone for a few minutes, with the door open,” Neal explained. “We think somebody took her, the cops are coming."

"No, no," Rose shook her head. "It can't be!"

Father Gold got a hold of her, allowing Rosalie to cry on his shoulder just like he had already been doing for a full year. She hugged him back, afraid that if she let go of him she would fall to her knees right there in the street.

"Calm down child, we will find her," the priest murmured.

"How am I supposed to calm down? I want my baby."

Neal exchanged a glance with him and Father Gold started to drag her inside, knowing it would be best if she was home when she finally broke down into tears, because they both knew this moment would come.

"Hush hush, sweetheart, you'll be fine."

"I just want my baby," Rosalie mumbled one last time as they climbed up the stairs.

* * *

 

It was already late when Adam left Rosalie's apartment. The church had spent the whole day closed thanks to his lack of interest in staying there - he had been raised to love and respect his duties to God, but he simply couldn't put it above his daughter, Rose needed him and he was pretty sure God could understand that. He would do right and resign as soon as possible but for now, he would have to keep trying to deal with both things at the same time.

Gold however didn't feel even a bit surprised when he saw someone was waiting outside, because of course she would be. His mother had been quiet for a while now and part of him knew it was probably due the fact she should be plotting something. The thing about Fiona was that she always had something rather evil playing on her mind and when he saw he little smirk she had on her lips, Gold felt sure that she wasn't there only to have a cup of tea with him.

"I was told your little offspring had a girl," Fiona started as soon as Adam approached her, opening the double doors to allow them inside.

"Good night, mother," Gold greeted her with a sigh.

It was the last thing he needed tonight, Fiona coming over to bother him by judging his past, so he took quick steps to the backroom of the church, hoping it would give him some time to breath and think clearly before she reached for him, but Fiona seemed to be especially fast in that occasion, following her son as close as a shadow.

"I want it," she declared.

"What?"

"I want that baby, I'll take care of her before that Rosalie can ruin the poor child," Fiona explained. "She will be raised in a good house to become a religious person. A nun."

Adam blinked, slowly turning around to face his mother. From all nonsense she used to say, it was definitely to craziest thing he had ever heard.

"Mother, have you gone mad?" Gold inquired. "You can't take Rose's child!"

"Oh, I can and I will, I'm that baby's great-grandmother and I will protect her from having the same fate from those two devilish woman."

He took a deep breath, although he knew this or anything else was going to be able to calm himself down right now. His mother had overstepped all boundaries and he wouldn't allow her to keep going with this. Once they found Izzy she would never leave her mother's side again.

"Stop," he said behind clenched teeth. "Now I'm going to tell you something, you won't get to that baby, I won't let you and you won't be able to try anything right now because she is missing."

"What do you mean?"

"Somebody stole the child."

A snort left her. Fiona shook her head at him, lifting her chin with petulance, as if she still had strength enough to fight a whole army. Years more could pass and she could even reach a full century in age, but nothing would change her.

"I should have been expecting that," Fiona rambled to herself before adding in a louder tone: "If the girl is found, she will be mine."

* * *

 

It was only in the next day, after Rose spend a whole night weeping against her pillows that the news finally reached his ears and Roland came to her apartment, alongside with Henry. He found her curled on the couch, eyes reddish and swollen as she sobbed, a blanket pulled up to her shoulders. Roland slid into the empty seat beside her pulling the girl close to his chest and wrapping her into a tight hug.

"Roland, they've taken our baby," she cried against his shirt.

"I know, my love, but we will find her, alright? We will see Izzy again."

"What if we don't?"

"We will," he guaranteed.

She turned to hide her face against his chest. In other moments, she wouldn't have allowed herself this proximity with him, but it was their daughter who was lost and Roland was the only person who could properly understand her suffering. Izzy was his too and even if he wasn't as close to her as she was, that baby was still a part of him. He petted her hair gently, murmuring sweet words to her ear, until Sabine stopped beside them and he looked up at her.

"Can you stay with her for a bit?" She asked. "Father Gold and Neal are speaking to the cops, your brother just took Jacinda out and I really need to go to work."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her," Roland promised.

Sabine nodded and left the apartment with a last reminder for them to call her at any news about Izzy. Rose reached for the basket that was still settled in the same place it had been ever since the little girl came home, she picked the small pink blanket from inside there and hugged it, smelling the baby essence in it.

"She shall be hungry, the last time she was nurse was yesterday in the morning," Rose sniffled.

"Stay calm, Rose, we will get to find our daughter."

Roland brushed some curls away from her face, cupping her cheek and sliding his nose along hers, feeling as her breath got hard, before he locked their lips in a soft kiss. She kissed him back, despite of her best intentions, because she needed it right, Rosalie needed comfort and she wasn't caring about where and how she would en up getting it. At least, until she door swung open and she pulled away, her cheeks blushing with shame.

"Mr. De Locksley, can we have a talk?" One of the police officers asked, entering the apartment with Neal and Gold behind him. "Mr. Cassidy told me your wife pushed Ms. Weaver down the stairs. Do you think she could have the child?"

"Ivy? Oh..." Roland swallowed, quickly glancing at Rose before reaching for his pocket and taking his cell phone in hands. "Oh, God, I need to make some calls."

* * *

 

Victoria Belfrey had a pretty stressing day at work, she was hoping to get home, take a bath, drink some wine and just go to bed, however her plans were interrupted by the knock on the front door, just a couple of minutes after she arrived. Mumbling something about her lack of lucky, Victoria walked towards the entryway, opening the door to find Ivy behind it, cradling a baby close to her chest.

"Where did this child come from?" Victoria stormed.

"It is mine, mother, my baby," Ivy answered, smiling at her. "I've brought him for you to see."

Eyes closing, Victoria took a deep breath, regretting the fact she had allowed her oldest daughter to leave the hospital without having done any of the therapy sections the doctors had recommended her after the miscarriage. She wasn't alright, she didn't even look fine and now she had brought a big problem to her doorstep.

"Ivy, dearest, you're holding a girl and it is not yours. We've already talked about that, your son died."

"No, he didn't," the girl yelled. "He is here!"

She took a long breath gesticulating for her to get inside and closing the door behind them as she led Ivy through the hallway.

"Alright, why don't you and the baby get comfortable, then?" Victoria suggested. "You look tired, you need to sleep."

Ivy gave her a look full of mistrust but as exhausted as she might be, she ended up agreeing and letting her mother take her to her old bedroom, where she took she shoes off and got under the covers, still cuddling the baby close. It was a blessing the child was a quiet one, or Victoria would already have gone mad. She was trying to think about what to do with the baby when her cell phone start to ring, Roland's number shining on the screen.

When he started to ramble about how his daughter had disappeared and how Ivy hadn't come back home last night, she knew they she was in trouble. Victoria pulled on her coldest voice, trying to not let her despair affect her.

"No, Roland I haven't seen Ivy and I have no idea where your daughter is, but I'm warning you, you better not keep hanging with that Weaver girl. You're making Ivy suffer."

Roland answered something about Ivy been mad and that was no way he would keep married with her for long. Victoria rang off the phone and looked around, bending down to pick the child from Ivy's arms while she still could and then went downstairs where she found Ana sat by the piano.

"Anastasia," Victoria called, making her turn around and dropping the little girl into her arms. "Disappear with this baby."

"What?" Anastasia questioned, looking wide-eyed at the baby. "Mother, who is this child?"

"Roland's daughter, your stupid sister stole her and if the cops come here looking for her, all of us will end up in jail," she exclaimed. "Take her to an orphanage."

Anastasia stared at the child as she started to wail, moving arms and legs repeatedly, desperate to be tendered but the girl didn't know what to do.

"But - " she tried to protest.

"Do as I say!"

Jumping, startled, Anastasia nodded, grabbing her purse and disappearing through the door.

* * *

 

Belle was wandering around the living room, too worried about her granddaughter to simply sit down and try to relax. Alice was on the phone in the other end of the room, sat on the staircase, wearing a set of blue pyjamas. She looked through the windows, trying to convince herself it was better not call Adam again, because if there were any news, he would have already told her. Sinking on the couch Belle sighed watching as Alice came closer.

"It was Roland, nobody knows where Ivy is," she informed.

"Probably with poor little Izzy," Belle shrugged.

Alice knew she was desperate. Belle had already told her and Gideon about the fact Rose was the daughter she had abandoned all those years ago. She bent to press a kiss to her mother's forehead.

"I'm going to bed, see you in the morning, mom."

"Goodnight, little bunny."

Alice shared a last smile with her and went upstairs. Belle knew she should go to bed, but she felt wide awake, ready to do anything other than resting. She grabbed the TV's remote control trying zapping between the channels to find some interesting show to watch, but ending up with the news. She was considering giving up and going to bed when someone knocked on the door.

Belle stood up, walking towards it and peeking a look outside, but there was no one there. She was ready to go back inside when a small noise made her look down, a gasp leaving her mouth when she saw the baby laying on the cold floor only protected by a basket. Kneeling, she picked the child up and she didn't even need to ask to know it was Izzy.

Tears started to ran down her cheeks as she made her way inside, walking directly to the study where her son had been working.

"Gideon," Belle called, finding him asleep in front of his desk. "Gideon, wake up!"

"Mom," he mumbled rubbing at his eyes, "what is it?"

"It's Izzy, somebody left her in our doorstep, just like I left my daughter. She came back to her family."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiona wants Izzy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of updates lately, it happened both because things were a bit rushed around here and because some little things were making me feel unmotivated to write. But I'll be posting everything I have in stock in the next few days. I hope you all don't mind.  
> Enjoy the chapter!

Roland didn’t leave Rose’s side at all. He kept calling his own house, asking the keeper if Ivy had been there, but the was no sight of her anywhere and he was pretty sure the reason for her sudden disappearance relied on the fact she had stolen his daughter. When night came, Rosalie started to feel the weariness that was so clear in her face and, from time to time, she fell asleep on the couch a couple of times, but always woke up startled. It was pretty late when he offered to make her a cup of tea and the two of them were just sipping and staring at the darkness of the apartment, when they hear the knock on the door.

“Who would be here this late?” Rose inquired, eyebrows narrowed in puzzlement.

“I don’t know,” Roland shrugged, pulling his cup down to the coffee table. “I’ll check out, you stay here.”

He stood up, walking towards the door and opening it as he rubbed his eyes, he needed some sleep, but he couldn’t just allow himself to rest when so get any rest while he didn’t have news about his daughter. However, as he looked up at the woman standing in front of him, his whole face lighted up with a smile, because she was cradling a sweet new-born in her arms.

“Belle… Oh, my! Is this my Izzy?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, lifting the baby to place her in Roland’s arms, “someone left here at my doorstep.”

Isabelle was sleeping. It was funny considering all she had been through, but she was and the only thing she did when switched between Belle’s arms to her father’s, was to produce a tiny sound, before she curled herself against his chest, one tiny hand coming up to cover her cheek.

“Ah, hello sweetheart,” Roland cooed the silliest voice he could make, before he looked back to the living room and yelled: “Rose, come here!”

Rosalie appeared wrapped in a night vest, blue pyjamas hidden underneath it, her auburn hair, a real mess of curls and her eyes, that quickly became wide at the sight of then, covered by dark circles. She rushed to his side, peeking a look at the baby and ignoring completely their visitor.

“Izzy?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Belle found her.”

Picking the baby from him, Rose quickly eyed the woman. She still disliked her very much, but she couldn’t help but feeling grateful to have her daughter back, despite of who had brought her here. Gently cradling Izzy, she started to think about the many things she needed to do: feed her, bath her and change her nappies. Taking her temperature also seemed to be a nice idea.

“I think you should take her to a hospital,” Belle suggested before she could finish organizing her thoughts. “Just to make sure she is fine.”

As much as she hated to admit, that woman was right. Izzy had stayed a full day away from her, she was still too little and needed to be constantly cared for and she had no idea what the person who kidnapped her had done in this mean time. It was better to be safe than sorry and she just hoped her baby girl’s healthy hadn’t been too affected. Rose glanced at Roland, worrying at her lip.

“Is your car outside?”

“I’ll take us there,” he nodded.

* * *

 

Izzy’s reappearance had been a joy for everyone. The doctors were worried about the fact she had spent too many hours without being fed and kept her in the hospital for a while, until her low glucose levels had been normalized. Rose stayed with her all the time, refusing to leave her daughter even for a second, until both Roland and Father Gold were there to watch her as she took a bath and ate something.

It didn’t take much time before they were sent back home to find Jacinda was gone. Apparently, she was still blaming herself for everything that happened and didn’t want to stay there anymore, Sabine said she wasn’t picking the phone which got Rosalie with a heartache, because as much as she had been angry with her when she found out her daughter was gone, Jacinda was still her friend and she didn’t want her to go away.

However, there wasn’t much she could do now other than pray for her friend’s safety wherever she might be. Rose occupied herself with taking care of Izzy and helping Neal buying things on-line, as he had finally found the perfect apartment and Emma was moving permanently with little Henry. But they needed furniture first, and he was trying to get everything settled down as soon as possible.

She was sat on the couch near him, Izzy sleeping in the basket beside them as she opined about the wardrobes when the phone rang. It was Sunday, so Sabine was home, cooking one of her amazing recipes for their lunch and quickly got to it, talking in a low but insistent voice that made Rosalie feel startled. Sabine came to the living room with the phone in hands, staring at it with a frown on her face.

“Was it Jacinda?”

“No,” the other girl answered. “Rose, it was Fiona Gold, she said she wants your daughter.”

Arching an eyebrow with surprise, Rosalie tried to understand how Father Gold’s mother got her phone number and what the hell she thought she was talking about.

“What? Why?”

“She says she has rights,” Sabine shrugged with a preoccupied expression. “She says she is related to Izzy.”

“That woman must have gone mad,” Rose whispered under her breath, standing up and pulling on her shoes.

After all the crazy stuff that had happened in the last few weeks, she wouldn’t let another mad woman make her life worse. Nobody was going to get any near to her baby ever again. She wouldn’t allow it.

“Where are you going?” Sabine asked, watching as she furiously entered their bedroom and reappeared after a second with her purse in hands.

“Nobody leaves my baby alone with the door open,” Rose warned, walking towards the door. “I’ll be back soon. Take care of her.”

* * *

 

Fiona’s residence was one of the biggest and fanciest houses in town. Rose had only been in the rich side of the town a few times and most of them when she was working in the Hooded Beauty company that wasn’t far away from there. The bus she usually took home passed through that specific street every single day, so it was already a known view for her, but Rosalie never expected to be knocking on that front door.

It wasn’t opened by the priest’s mother however, but by an old woman with greying hair that seemed to have been blond or red when she was younger, by the way it looked like faded bronze in some parts. When she looked at Rose, her blue eyes got wide as if she seeing a ghost.

“Excuse me, is Mrs. Gold home?”

“Yeah, you must be Rose,” the woman, who she thought to be a caretaker, said.

It sounded weird to her ears, because she started to wonder how much Fiona, who she had only seen a couple of times and not actually talked much to, have been talking about her. Or worse, for how long she had been plotting to get her child from her.

“Do I know you?”

“No, but please, come in. I’m Mrs. Potts.”

Nodding in agreement, Rosalie stepped in, allowing her to lead the way as she prepared herself for what she had came there for. The house was even bigger than she had imagined, bigger than any house she had ever entered in her life and she was conducted through hallways until they finally reached the garden.

Fiona was sat on a bench, a copy of the Bible in hands. The place was beautiful, full of red roses and white lilies, somewhere she would like to stay, the sun bathing her skin as she sang to her baby or wrote some poetry, but unfortunately the garden wasn’t a public space and she haven’t gone there to admire the view.

“Why on earth do you think you can just have my daughter?”

“Ah, I knew you were coming,” Fiona said, delightfully, closing the Bible and pulling it aside as she turned around to look at her.

“You’re not getting any near to Isabelle.”

“Such a terrible name choice. I blame Adam,” she snorted. “You’re irresponsible. You’ve laid with a man without God’s blessing, you make a living of taking pictures of yourself and you lost the child days after she was born.”

Rose gasped, barely believing what she was hearing. So, Fiona had somehow gathered all her mistakes together in a crazy attempt to have reasons to get Izzy from her, but she could say whatever she wanted, that didn’t change the fact she was Izzy’s mother and was going to protect her at any costs.

“Who do you think you are to judge me?” Rose inquired. “I know how to take care of my baby and you are no one to her, so stop with this madness!”

By the way Fiona’s eyes narrowed and she grabbed a cane that was near her to help herself to stand on her feet, Rose understood she was getting as angry as she felt herself.

“I am that child’s grandmother and if you don’t bring her to me by your own will, I’ll come to my lawyers.”

“What did you say?” Rose blinked in shock. “You can’t be her grandmother; your only son is…”

A lazy smile of victory crossed Fiona’s face as she declared: “Yes, Rosalie. I’m your father’s mother.”

None of this made any sense for her. It must be a lie, she tod herself, a sick lie to force her giving Izzy up, but she wasn’t going to no matter what she said. However, her mind was now about to blow up. Fiona’s son was Father Gold. He presided the mass every Sunday, he heard people’s confessions and talked to them when they needed guidance. He wasn’t a normal man. He should be celibate.

“But… But he is a priest.”

“And Izzy shall become a nun,” Fiona stated.

“Stop,” Rose exclaimed, feeling herself start to shake. “I need to get out of here.”

* * *

 

Multiple times, she tried to think about the right thing to do, but nothing seemed to be proper. Tears ran down her face and she remembered the many nights she spent awake as a child, wondering who her parents could be and if someday they could ever regret having cast her aside and come back to that orphanage’s door claiming her as their own and taking her home. But that never happened. She remained lonely and unwanted, however that never hurt as much as it did now.

Rosalie wasn’t sure if she ever decided to stop by the church or if her body just walked itself to there. The rage was making her blood boil in her veins, her stomach twist painfully and her heart ache in a new kind of way that made her want to curl herself in a corner and simply sob. She pushed the church’s doors open, thankful to find it empty, only the priest lightening some candles at the altar.

“Why?”

He turned around the sound of her voice, a smile spreading on his lips, before it faded at the sight of her distress. Adam had seen her crying a lot of times, but it each one felt more painful, as if anything that afflicted her heart also did his.

“Rose, what happened? Is Izzy alright?”

“Perfectly fine, because she is being cared for and she knows that soon her mama will be home. Unlike me, who had a whole life of uncertainty, not knowing how the love of a parent felt like,” she answered, full of bitterness. “Did you abandoned me not to ruin your career? Not to shame yourself with the church?”

His eyes slammed shut. _She knew._ Oh, God, she knew and he didn’t even have the chance to be the one telling her, answering all of her questions and assuring her he would have loved her very well if he had the chance to. If somebody had given him the choice.

“Who told you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, harshly. “What really matters is that you have spent a year pretending to be my friend, but denied me having a family. Have you always known that I was your daughter?”

He shook her head, feeling the tears start to burn his eyes. His precious girl hated him and he couldn’t blame her for that. She was crying, trembling and her legs seemed about to give up. Adam wished he could walk to her, pass his arms around her body and cradle her like a child, but that time was gone and he knew she probably would never let him approach again.

“No, not always. I only found out after I had already met you.”

“But you didn’t say anything,” Rose accused.

“Because I couldn’t,” Adam tried to explain. “I was told you were mine in the secret of a confession. Please, understand, Rosalie.”

She swallowed hard. Understanding was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Rosalie had been left at the doorstep of some strangers who took her to the orphanage and the person who did this, called himself a man of God.

“Alright, that I can get. But I can’t erase the fact that I believed you to be good person, the only one I could rely on and now, I’ve found out you’re a corrupt man, that your guidance means nothing. You are priest and yet you’ve laid with a woman, and the worse part of it is that you ignored completely the consequence of your mistakes. You’ve abandoned your own child. God must not be happy with you, Father.”

“Enough, Rosalie,” Gold commanded in a different tone of voice, more exigent than he had ever sounded before. She shrunk and he regretted the way he spoke a second later, taking a deep breath and continuing softly: “Yes, I shared a night of passion with someone, but I have never known that I had a daughter. When I came back to Storybrooke, she came looking for me to say she got pregnant that night and she abandoned the child. Ever since I have been looking you.”

“You looked for me?” Rose asked, biting down at her lower lip, almost chewing it nervously.

“Of course,” he answered, his thick accent echoing through the church’s walls. “I almost couldn’t believe my luck when I found out who you were.”

A bitter laugh left her mouth as she completed: “The screwed-up girl that kept coming here to complain about her problems.”

He took a step into her direction, slowly not to scare her and place one hand in her shoulder, lifting her chin with the other, making her face him with those brown eyes they shared.

“No, the sweetest and strongest woman I know,” he corrected her. “You might not be willing to forgive me, but I’m really proud to be your father and I can’t even begin to say how much I’m sorry that you didn’t have the chance to grow up with a family.”

“Oh, father…”

She threw her arms around him, hiding her face on his shoulder and sobbing as a mesmerized Gold petted her hair, barely believing her was hugging his beautiful daughter, after she found everything out.

“I love you, Rose and I wanted very much to have raised you.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose makes a decision.  
> Belle faces Fiona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm sorry for the delay, I haven't realised it had been so long since I've updated this fic, which was supposed to have daily updates. Anyway, I've finally got to finish this one and I'll be posting the next Dark Children chapter between tomorrow and Monday.

He didn’t quite remember about driving the whole way to her house, or knocking on her door at all, it was like Gold was left alone in the church in a second after having that conversation with his daughter and in the next, he was there, clutching his beloved Belle to his chest, his whole body shaking helplessly.

“Adam?” The brunette asked after a second, lifting her head to look up at him, seeing the tears shining in his brown depths. “What are you doing here this late? Are you alright?”

The question was stupid, as she could see clearly that he was anything but fine, however Belle tried to be as gentle as she could, leading Adam inside the house and gesticulating for him to take a seat on her comfortable red sofa. He sat down, still holding her close, his fingers rubbing nervously at the smooth skin of her palms.

“She knows. Oh, Belle, my mother told everything to Rose,” he confessed. “She is so upset…”

Belle blinked, startled, because she certainly wasn’t waiting for it. She thought she would have time for it, to think about the right way of telling her daughter the whole story and ask for her forgiveness, but obviously Fiona needed to ruin it, take the chance of being sincere away from her.

“What did she tell you? Does she hate me now?”

“Rose doesn’t know you’re her mother yet, just that I’m the father,” Gold said. “My mother only told her the truth because she wants to take Izzy from her.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, my mother is crazy Belle. She likes torturing people for no reason.”

_That,_ he didn’t really need to tell her. Belle knew better than anyone how twisted Fiona could be, because when Adam went to Italy, she stayed there to see the worse side of that woman. If she could throw out the woman that was carrying her own grandchild in her womb, then she thought she was capable of anything, but taking Izzy from Rosalie’s arms, was not something she would imagine she could plot. Belle stood up, kissing Adam’s lips and giving him an assuring look.

“Oh, but she is not going to do this. Because of her, I had to abandon our daughter, but she won’t separate Rose from hers.”

She got a hold of her car keys, ready to show Fiona she couldn’t play with her family anymore.

“Where are you going?” Adam asked.

“End this freaking game.”

* * *

 

When the front door of the beautiful big house was opened, Belle - who was infuriated with all that was happening - gasped, because the one behind it wasn't who she expected, but an old friend. A gentle smile spread on her lips, as Helga Potts also smirked at her, grabbing one of Belle's pale hands and gripping it.

"It seems I'm seeing ghosts all around today," the caretaker said and Belle couldn't help but to take another step into her direction and hug her briefly.

"Hello, Mrs. Potts."

Pulling away from her, the redhead took a long look at Belle, smiling to see the bubbly maid she once knew had become that successful woman.

"You look beautiful, girl." Mrs. Potts said. "And your daughter is a tiny clone of yours."

Belle giggled, but in matter of fact, she didn't quite agree with her. Rose was anything, but alike her, she was strong, fierce and never gave up fighting for what she wanted, her features were slimmer than hers, her heart-shaped face adorned with details that she inherited from her father. And maybe it could be due to the fact Belle couldn't forgive herself for everything she did to that girl, but she couldn't see herself in Rosalie.

"I wish you were right, but that's not true, she is her own person and takes a lot after Adam," the brunette answered. "Is the old witch around?"

"Right in the living room."

"Thanks."

It had been year since she last set a foot inside that house and it felt bittersweet to be there again. She had lived great moments in there, the most cherished ones, but she had also been humiliated and mistreated and that still hurt. Belle thought the scars Fiona left on her would never disappeared completely, always hunting her around, to make sure she would remember her own mistakes. However, when she stepped inside the living room none of it mattered anymore, because she was there to defend her daughter and for once, she would protect Rose.

"You're not doing this," Belle announced to the elderly woman sat by the windows.

Fiona had grown really old, her dark hair now grey, her face, once beautiful and lacking make-up, now was full of wrinkles, the lips painted in some nude tone of brown. She had a cane laying near her and her hands seemed to shake as she pulled away the cup of tea she had been taking. But just one thing, hadn't changed: she still looked terrifying and her glance could have been able to set Belle on fire if she had that power.

"Hello, Isabelle. I didn't think you would be brave enough to come here. But you're the second little whore who comes here to yell at me today."

"Don't you dare speak about my daughter this way," she gasped. "And you're not getting Izzy, I won't allow it!"

Leaning against the wall, Fiona stood up, getting a hold of her cane and walking towards Belle as if she was a monster who had invaded her house to bring chaos, which was probably exactly how she was seeing the whole situation.

"I will have that child, because I would let her become another bitch like you and Rosalie. She has my blood after all and I intend to save that poor little soul."

"You speak as if you're a saint, but if one of us is going to burn in hell, then this person is going to be you, Mrs. Gold," Belle spitted at her. "I may have sinned, but I did it for love, now you... You plotted all of this, you made me feel like I wasn't enough. I abandoned my baby because of you, I lost the love of my life because of you. It's your turn to watch me win, I will gain my daughter's love and I will marry your son as soon as he resigns."

Belle turned back on her heels, matching out of the house as a jaw-dropped Fiona watched her leave. She heard a giggling sound behind and looked up to see an amused Mrs. Potts standing near the door.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Turning tables," the caretaker chuckled before going back to the kitchen.

* * *

 

When Rose opened the front door of her apartment that night, after having arrived home, taken a bath, pulled on her pyjamas and fed Isabelle, she was looking like she had spent a week fully awake - which considering she had a new-born at home was basically the truth. She rubbed at her eyes, her heart breaking a little bit more to see the huge smile on Roland's lips, because she missed that smile a hell lot and it just made her feel worse today.

"How is Izzy?" Roland immediately asked, closing the door behind him and seeing as the tears started to fall from her eyes. "Rosie, what happened?"

"Gold is my father," she managed to mumble.

"Gold? You mean the priest?"

It was stupid and way too reckless to threw her arms around him like she did just after he finished that sentence, but Rose needed some comfort and even though she was alright with the explanation her father gave her about everything that happened, it still hurt, because now she knew she had a wonderful father who really loved her and who could have given her a decent childhood, but it was denied to them, because of what her mother did. She hadn't asked anything about her to him, but Gold didn't say any names or spoke much about the woman, just the needed, so she guessed her mother shouldn't be worth the time.

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Rol," Rosalie wept against his shirt. "My whole life, I had a religion and now everything seems to be a lie,"

"Hush hush," he murmured, leading her to the couch. "You're alright, babe."

Rose sat by his side, allowing Roland to stroke her back and pull her closer as she looked down at Moses basket where their daughter was sleeping. That little cherubim deserved the world and Rose would do anything in her reach to give her everything she never had. Izzy would have a happy childhood, parents who loved her and the assurance of a nice future. She just needed to make sure it all happened in the best way possible and, Rosalie needed to admit that her actual situation wasn't the best one.

"If I asked you to leave Ivy and be with me, would you?" She asked Roland.

His gaze, that was also fixed on the baby, went back to her and he cupped her face, brushing a thumb against her flushed cheeks. God, it should be forbidden to look at someone the way he looked at her. Roland's eyes were heated with the kind of feelings she was trying to hide deep inside of herself but which she didn't want to deny anymore.

"In a split second," he confirmed, "you know that I love you and that I want to be with you."

"Then stay here, be mine again," Rose begged. "Screw Ivy and all else, I want you and our family."

She moved forward and kissed him, passing one leg each side of his and sitting on his lap as she allowed her lips to taste his properly in such a long time. Roland's hands run along her back, curling in her hair and gripping at her skin, making her remember shy she had given herself so easily to him in first place.

"Are you sure?" Roland stopped to ask.

"Yes."

* * *

 

Izzy wasn't much of a good sleeper, she woke her mother up at five for a feed and when she went back to sleep, Rose didn't feel like going back to bed again, she took a bath and pulled on some smart clothes, before starting to prepare breakfast. That was when Sabine - who had taken a shift as bartender at Roni's - arrived home, looking terribly exhausted. She said something about needing a nap and went to their room, coming back just a few seconds later with wide eyes.

"What is Roland doing in my bedroom?"

Eyes sliding shut, Rose cursed herself for forgetting about him, but if they were to make this work, then everybody should be aware of their relationship. And she wasn't carrying much for what other people thought of her right now, she was the daughter of a priest after all and she couldn't feel dirtier even if she wanted.

"He slept here," she shrugged.

Sabine's eyes got wide, her mouth falling open.

"Rosalie!"

"Don't worry nothing happened," she guaranteed, but when her friend continued to look scandalised, she felt the need to add: "Jesus, Sabine, I just had a baby, my body is not even ready for that yet."

"He is married!"

"I'm not carrying for it right now," Rosalie finished.

Flipping a pancake to a plate, she tried to ignore the fact that one of her best friends was staring at her and judging her. Sabine opened the fridge, serving herself with some apple juice, when they heard the knock on the door. Rose sighed turning off the oven and walking towards it, just to find her old employer there.

"Ms. French what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

Belle was dressed in an orange dress she would have never tried, but knew was probably a great fashion tendency for the season. She appeared to be unbreakable, but something about the watery shine of her eyes, made Rose believe there was something really bad bothering her, but after everything she did, the girl couldn't move herself to feel sorry for her.

"I don't see why," Rose remarked. "I'm thankful you've found my daughter, but I don't work for you anymore so..."

"No, no! I actually came here to tell you a story."

"What?"

Taking a step inside, Belle touched her arm as if they were intimate friends, which was clearly not the case.

"Please, listen," the fashion-designer begged. "Once upon a time, there was a very poor girl who worked for a very rich family. She fell in love with a boy who had an evil mother that separated them and threw her out, but before she managed to, they shared a night."

Rose's eyebrows narrowed at it. She knew Ms. French was quite a strange person, but she didn't know she was this creepy. Who else would come to a former employee's house to bother them with stories like this?

"Ms. French have you been drinking?" Sabine, who was standing by Rose's side, asked.

Belle however, didn't seem to be hearing anything she said, as she continued to speak, blue eyes fixed in Rosalie's brown ones.

"The girl had a baby that she loved very much, but she had no money, she was weak and afraid, so she had to give her away."

Suddenly her legs felt too weak to keep supporting her and her heart seemed about to burst, such a quick pace it had taken. Rose told herself she must have misheard it, that life couldn't be this cruel to her, but Belle was now crying and even if she wanted to believe otherwise, she knew she had understood it perfectly right.

"Are you saying..." She trailed off.

"I was that girl, Rose."

Her chin trembled with her effort not to give into weakness and break in tears, she felt Sabine's hand on her shoulder, however she couldn't do anything but to shake her head repeatedly.

"I can't be," Rosalie sobbed.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry."

"I'm not your sweetie," she yelled. "Get out of my house."

Glancing at the door, Belle seemed to consider it for a second, before she changed her mind. She had gone there with a purpose and she wasn't going to be a coward and simply run away. She had waited too long for that moment.

"I didn't want to leave you, but I had to. I just wanted you to live."

"A life without a mother? Without care and without love? Because that's the life I had."

"I..."

Rose stepped back wiping away the tears that dared scaping through her eyes. Belle French was her mother. The woman that had messed up with her life and ended her career was the same one that abandoned her all those years ago. It was worse than having a priest as a father, it was the most heart-breaking thing she could have discovered.

"You know what is worse? The woman that ruined everything for me now is the same one who abandoned me in a doorstep," she said out loud. "But what I can take from this, the only example you gave me, is that I shall never let my own daughter down."

"Don't be cruel," Belle begged, "I suffered for years, I loved you ever since the moment I found out about your existence."

Rose shook her head, too sad to keep hearing her excuses. She would have never left her daughter, even if she had no money to take care of her, she preferred to live on the streets and steal to survive than give Izzy away.

"No, my father loves me. He looked for me, he took care of me when he found me and you also denied him the chance of raising me."

"It was Fiona's fault," Belle insisted. "My child, please."

"Out!"

Then, she finally gave up and ran out of the apartment, just as Roland walked inside the kitchen, trying to understand why everybody was yelling. Izzy's cries came from the bedroom and Rose turned her back at both her friend and her lover, because the only thing that would surely calm her down a bit now, was holding her baby and trying to assure herself she would be a good mother.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roland is threatened by Victoria.  
> Rose gets to speak with her siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the longest peorid I haven't updated this fic, I'm so sorry, but we are heading towards the end, so I hope to get it sorted out soon.  
> Next week updates: Bittersweet, The Parent Trap, and this one! (And maybe Dark Children too if I can manage to finish it).

When Belle left Rose's apartment she needed a moment before walking towards Adam's car, which was parked crossing the street. She tried to wipe her tears, but they kept falling, so she opened the door anyway and slid into the passenger's seat, as a deep sob she had been holding, finally came up her throat. He placed a hand on her knee, massaging her through the thin fabric of her tights, making Belle wish to beg him take all her clothes off and make her forget everything and she only didn't do it, because she knew he would refuse as he was still a priest after all. Damned Fiona who made all of this mess.

Leaning against his shoulder, her hair made a curtain, covering her face as she cried and Gold moved to hug her without a question, he probably already knew this moment was coming and it warmed her heart a bit to have him there with her, because at least it meant she wasn’t alone anymore.

"She hates me and I can't blame her."

"Oh, Belle," he murmured, cupping her face a peppering it with kisses.

Her breath was coming out ragged and difficult as if a panic attack was near, but it was only due to the wrecking experience of being rejected by her own daughter and knowing it was her own fault, nobody else’s.

"We could have been happy," Belle cried.

Gold pressed a kiss to her lips and it was a heated one, full of the passion she so needed right now.

"We still can."

* * *

 

Roland felt like bad news were coming. He had spent the entire weekend at Rose's apartment, taking care of her and their daughter, almost unable to believe she had agreed to be with him again and he was willing to do things right this time. After months apart, he could have never imagined that Rose could give him a second change, but he bet the fact she was feeling pretty sensible right now had something to do with it. He had always known her life was complicated but discovering she was the daughter of the woman she hated the most with a priest, had shaken her.

His poor love couldn't stop crying for a long while and only when sleep hit her hard, she stopped. Roland held her close the whole time, Sabine helped him while she was there, but he stayed on his own. Early in the morning, he received a few calls and had to wake Rose and tell her he needed to go off for a while to sort somethings out but that he would be back soon.

He stopped by his mother-in-law's house, already knowing nothing good could come from that, and took a few deep breaths before knocking on the door. Anastasia opened it for in, forcing the fakest smile he had ever seen to pass through her lips as she led Roland through the corridors. He had never been much friends with Ana, partly because she was a very closed person, partly because he was afraid of how she might react to the stupid things he used to say.

But Roland didn't want to think about any of it now, not when he was about to face one of his biggest nightmares. Victoria Belfrey was coming from the staircase and met them half-way, her face showing how angry at him she was.

"Victoria, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes," the short-haired woman answered, folding her arms. "Do you know where Ivy is?"

A sigh left him, as Roland thought he should definitely earn the prize of worse husband ever, because he didn't actually have a concrete answer for that. He hadn't seen Ivy for days and even though he was pretty mad with her for everything she did to him, he knew he had vowed to care for her until the last day of their lives. Of course, those vows had been forced and only brought sadness for both of them, but still, they were a promise.

"At home I believe. I'm afraid I'm not sure, as I didn't spend the night there."

Victoria narrowed her eyes at him, walking past Roland, directly to the living room, and he felt himself compelled to follow her, eyes falling to the couch she was pointing at him. Ivy was curled there, a blanket pulled over her and a pair of heels casted aside. _Oh, damn it_ , he was really the worst man he knew.

"Here is your answer," the woman said. "She is ill and you're leaving her to hook up with that hideous model."

Roland snorted loudly. He couldn't help but feeling guilty, however he had done his best for Ivy even when she didn't deserve it. He stayed by her side, took care of her and insisted more than a thousand times for her to go for a therapy, which the own doctors had indicated to her, but Ivy refused, so he couldn't do anything else. She was getting crazier by the day, having lost that baby making her vulnerable and unstable.

"Listen, I'm sorry for what is happening to Ivy, I really am, but everybody, including her, knows that we only got married because she was pregnant," Roland remarked.

"And now that she is going through this heart-breaking loss, you leave her alone," Victoria bounced, harshly. "How is that possible that you can't even respect the death of your own child?"

"Because it wasn't mine," he yelled back.

It was the first time he said it aloud or shared the secret with someone, because thinking about that made him feel even awful. His wife had cheated on him and made him believe the child she was having was his. He gave up everything he loved because of that lie, he lost the pregnancy of the woman he really loved and he couldn't be there to his daughter until now and it all was her fault.

"Ivy confessed at the hospital, in the night after she suffered that miscarriage," he continued. "I wasn't the father, some guys she met when she was abroad, was."

"I can't believe it," Victoria murmured.

"But you should. Ask her, she will confess," Roland said. "Now, I repeat, I'm sorry for Ivy, but I don't love her and I will be with the one I really do and with my daughter."

If Victoria wanted, he was willing to give Ivy all financial support she might need, but he also wanted a divorce, because he had a second chance at happiness and he wasn't willing to let it go. He was a father now and he would made sure his daughter had everything she needed. It would take some time for his own family to accept this, but he was sure once they met little Isabelle they would just fall in love with her and make things easier.

"You can't do this to her," Victoria was saying, while he dived into his thoughts, "you're still married."

"Then I'll ask for a divorce," Roland insisted. "Victoria, I know it is difficult to accept, but your daughter needs to be taken somewhere she can be cared for. She only babbles nonsense and she can be dangerous."

Shaking her head, Belfrey took a step back, laying a defensive hand on her daughter's dark hair.

"You will stay by her side, I will me sure you will."

"Let's see about that," Roland chuckled before turning his back to her and leaving the house.

* * *

 

She wasn’t sure if coming back to Roland’s apartment was a good idea since the last time she had been there was when she had come to tell him that she was pregnant, but instead, they broke up. Now, as she used the old key she had kept in her purse this whole time and entered the living room with their baby in her arms, she felt overwhelmed with memories.

He had said earlier on the phone that he wasn’t going back to the big house he was sharing with Ivy, that instead he would stay in the apartment from now on and he wanted her and Isabelle to move in as soon as possible, so they could be the family they were meant to. The idea sounded like a dream to her, because Rose really wanted to give a nice childhood to her daughter, but now that she saw the amount of dust gathering in the furniture, she thought it might take a long time before it happened.

"Roland?" Rosalie called, cradling the new-born closer. "Uh, you should have told me, this place would be a mess, so I wouldn't have brought Izzy!"

She looked around and when she heard steps coming from the hallway – high heeled steps for sure – she prayed that it wasn’t Ivy who was there, because the woman had been crazy enough to push her down the stairs and, probably to kidnap her baby, so the last thing she wanted to accidentally meet her.

"Rose, hey."

A sigh of relief left her when she saw the blonde girl wearing a carmine plush dress and ankle boots.

"Oh, hey, Alice. Long time no see."

The blonde – her sister – nodded, looking down at the child in her arms, a soft smile spreading on her lips. Rose had always liked Alice. She was one of the nicest persons she met at the company and she was always hanging out with her girlfriend, the hairstylist, Robyn. They were fun, but she wasn’t sure how to act near her that she knew they were related.

"Ah, is this my niece? Can I hold her?"

Rose blinked, but nodded wordlessly, handing the baby to her and being surprised by Alice’s apparently natural skills of holding the little one, swinging her gently.

"She is a lovely little girl," Alice praised, before saying in a new low, childish tone of voice:  "Hello again sweet pie."

"Again?"

"We were home the day our mother found her by the doorstep," Gideon explained, coming from the kitchen.

_Oh, God_ , the last thing she needed right now was this type of family reunion. First her evil grandmother, then her priest father, her bitchy mother and now her “too cool to be true” siblings… She just hoped to have no more relatives to have awkward meetings with. Once, she wished for a family, now she seemed to have such a big one it was starting to be inconvenient.

"Your mother," Rosalie remarked.

Alice lifted her glance to her a sad expression crossing her face.

"You don't intend to forgive her, do you?"

"I now she was good to you guys, but you saw how she mistreated me all the time at the company and I was abandoned."

"But she has always spoken about you," Gideon said. "Being left behind sucks, we know it very well, because we came from orphanages just like you, but we never got the chance to know our real parents."

Surely, she had heard about this before. Rose didn’t know if her mother became unable to conceive children on her own after her birth or if she just decided she didn’t want to go through pregnancies anymore, but for some reason Belle French had decided to adopt to kids, a boy a and a girl and she gave them the life she never offered to the child she had given birth to.

"But you got a nice childhood,” Rose answered, “someone took care of you, someone loved you. And I bet you wouldn't trade it for nothing."

"Yeah, I wouldn't," he agreed. "But that doesn't change the fact you should give a chance to mom. She loves you Rose."

This kind of love, she couldn’t quite understand. Rosalie thought someone who loved their children like she loved her precious Isabelle, would never even think about abandoning them, no matter how difficult the circumstances were. Just in cue, the baby started to cry and she reached to take her from the aunt’s arms.

"I think Izzy is hungry," she said, picking the little girl up.

"Oh, you're here," Roland smiled, appearing by the doorstep with only a bathrobe on. "Sorry I didn't hear you, I was taking a bath."

He walked towards Rose, kissing her lips and grinning at Gideon and Alice, who were gathering their things, ready to leave and give them some needed space, which made Rose infinitely glad.

"Think twice,” Alice begged, before reaching for the door, “you're our sister and we would like to be a family."

She swallowed hard, fighting against the tears that were starting to burn on her eyes, making her heart beat faster. Roland curled his arms around her, nestling Rose and their child in his embrace.

"Are you alright?"

"I will be," she assured.

* * *

 

Rose didn't want to spend much time in Roland's apartment, both because the place was really in need a of cleaning and because she still didn't feel alright with the whole situation. She had never imagined herself as someone who would steal another woman's husband, and she felt bitter to think while she was with Roland, Ivy was somewhere else, wondering if her husband would come home that night, so she told him to take some time to sort his life out and went back to her own flat.

She was tired and in need of some rest, knowing that sooner or later she would have to go to the church to confront her father about the reason why he didn't tell her immediately who her mother was. After all, Rose could have used a bit of preparing before Belle French appeared by her doorstep all teary-eyed and all else. For the moment, however, Rose opted to take a shower and feed Izzy before turning on the TV and starting to zap through the channels, but as peace couldn't last much in her life, the knock on the door soon came, startling Rose and making her feel a bad kind of anxiety just to think about finding out who might be there.

Standing up, she took careful steps to the door, grabbing the knob and opening it with her heart flipping painfully in her chest, just to find her grandmother there, leaning against a cane, her dark eyes narrowed and threatening.

"The last thing I need right now is you coming here with your crazy ideals," Rose immediately said. "Go away, Mrs. Gold."

"I didn't come here to make any threats, I came because I was wrong," Fiona answered with a shake of her head. "You are as an innocent in this whole story as Izzy is. I'm sure your life would have been different if you had a family, so I want you to know that I will support you from now on, as long as you allow me to be a part of your life. I want to know you, Rosalie."

Rose blinked, unsure if she had heard it right. Fiona didn't seem to be the kind of person who gave up things easily so she thought if she was doing it was because she had something bigger in mind. Maybe it was just a way of getting what she wanted, so Rose didn't allow herself to believe in those sudden good intentions at all.

"You do?"

"Yes, I'm your grandmother after all and I should have done it from the start," Fiona said with a smile, offering her a pink box. "I've brought this for the baby."

She reached for the present, opening the box's lid and finding some colourful clothes inside.

"That's very nice of you," Rose said, forcing herself to be nice. "Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?"

"Of course, I have lots of stories to tell you."

Giving her space, Rosalie allowed Fiona in and closed the door behind her. They spent a nice evening in which she learned more about her father than she could have ever wished for and, by the end of the day, after Mrs. Gold had held Izzy for the first time, she almost believed she could trust her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose has a talk with Regina.  
> Gold proposes to Belle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'm so sorry with the delay of this fic. I got really caught up writing my new on The Miracle, it has been quite an addiction writing it. But we are almost done here, I'd say another four chapters or so. I hope you're liking it!

Fiona was spending more time in Rose's apartment than she would like her to. There was a part of her that still couldn't believe her good intentions as nicer as she had been lately, mostly because whenever she made a question about her parents' past Fiona would start a whole monologue about how much of a bad person Belle French was. She seemed to be decided to convince Rosalie that her mother had given her up willingly, although the story Belle told her implied the very opposite.

“I would have helped, you know,” Fiona said in a certain afternoon. “I told Isabelle that she should stay in my home, that I would care for her and the child, she just shouldn’t keep seeking for Adam once he was a priest, but she didn’t hear me. I woke up one morning and she was gone.”

If she was feeling brave enough, then Rose might have gone to her mother and asked for the truth, but there was a lot going on at the moment and with Victoria threatening Roland constantly she got to make some decisions and not only for her sake, but for Izzy’s too. She had sent a message to Roland, telling him to come over as soon as he could, because she needed to discuss a few things with him. Rosalie had been waiting for really long when the doorbell rang and she pulled Izzy down to the Moses’ basket, walking to it promptly, but who she found there wasn’t exactly who she was expecting.

“Regina?”

The short haired woman gave her a tiny smile. From all people, Roland’s mother was the last one she thought could appear by her door and she started to wonder if he had send her there.

“Can I come in, please? I need to talk to you about something.”

“Mm, sure.”

She opened the door completely, letting the elegant woman walk inside her tiny apartment wearing her fancy red dress and black high heels. Rose stayed frozen in place for a moment without know exactly what to do as Regina took a few steps to into the living room her gaze falling to the Moses’s basket as Rosalie finally moved to close the door. Bending down, Regina pulled the pink blanket away from the baby to get a better view of her and smiled.

“Is that my granddaughter?”

“Yeah,” Rose said, coming right to her side and picking the child, lifting her. “Meet little Izzy.”

Regina gesticulated into the baby’s direction, asking to hold her and Rose handed Izzy to the new grandmother. Her smile became bigger. The short-haired woman took a seat on the couch, cradling the baby gently in her arms and touching her flushed cheeks.

“She is perfect,” Regina murmured, astonished, before looking up at Rose, her expression changing. “I came to say that I’m sorry for the things I’ve said to you that day at the company. I was angry with my son, I thought I knew what was right for him, but I didn’t.”

“That’s alright, Regina, I understand.”

And she really did. Roland had been irresponsible and even though he now knew that Ivy’s child was never truly his, it still didn’t change the fact that he had been sleeping with two women at the same time. So, out of the two of them, their parents needed to chose one relationship to support and obviously it wouldn’t be the one with the orphan girl. Rosalie would be totally capable of understanding Belle’s point of view too, if she hadn’t spent months snapping at her for literally no reason.

“So,” Regina started, sounding a bit unsure, “would you come back to the company?”

“What?” Rose blinked.

From her spot on the couch, Regina shrugged. She was smiling at the baby again, as if she was bewitched by her granddaughter and Rose was glad to know that at least her daughter was now accepted into her Roland’s family. Of course, she knew that Henry already liked her and had tried to help his brother a thousand and one times, but yet, Regina’s approval was really important.

“You’re still one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen and pregnancy didn’t make much damage in your body. I would like to have you modelling for us again.”

Rosalie couldn’t help but ask: “Did Roland send you?”

“No, he doesn’t know that I’m here.”

_Oh._ Another thing occurred to her and Rose knew her face had gone pale a great number of “what ifs” passing repeatedly through her mind. She worried at her lip, unsure if she would like to hear that answer or not but knowing that she should make the question anyway.

“Was it Ms. French then?”

“Nobody but my husband is aware of this visit,” Regina assured. “Come back Rose, you’ll do good for yourself.”

She took a deep breath and tried not to think much before she nodded. Yes, she would be back.

* * *

 

When Gold had called her and said the address, Belle thought she would find him in a coffee shop or something like that, but instead she ended-up parking her car in front of purple inn. She furrowed at it, looking at the street’s name and number for the second time, finding that she was in fact in the right place. The brunette made her way inside anyway, asking for the old woman by the counter which was Gold’s room, she smiled, saying that he was waiting on the number four.

Making her way upstairs, Belle knocked on the door and it didn’t take more than a few minutes for Gold to open it. Her breath got caught on her throat when she noticed his priest jacket and the collar thing where gone and he was only wearing a white shirt, the first buttons of it completely undone.

She tried to make up a good phrase in her head, but the only thing that came through her lips was: “Why are you in a hotel?”

Adam chuckled, gently grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her inside before the door locked behind them, his hands went then to both his pockets, burying deep as his eyes met with hers.

“I was living in the back of the church, but since I’ve sent letter to Vatican and they answered back confirming my resignation was done, I don’t have a home anymore.”

Belle blinked. A cold, bubbling sensation settled on her stomach a kind of excitement she thought she couldn’t quite feel anymore, even more now that her life was turned upside down. Oh, God forgive her, but she was so damn happy with this that she might jump with joy.

“You resigned?”

“Aye, sweetheart, and that’s why I asked you to come here, so I could kneel in front of you,” Gold said, going on one knee, taking a red velvet box from inside his pocked and opening it to display a piece of white gold and diamonds, “show you this ring and propose to you.”

“Oh my…”

“Isabelle French, will you be able to forgive me for everything and become my wife.”

She nodded frantically and he slid the ring to her finger as she pulled him up into at tight hug, kissing his whole face and saying repeatedly: “Yes! Yes, yes!”

When their lips met the kiss was messy and breath-taking, Belle clinging to him as Adam gave himself fully into it for the first time ever since they first dared a contact after meeting again. She moaned against his mouth, her too close to his and yet to far, Belle wanted it all and started to move them to the bed as she kissed down his jaw, her hands going down to his belt.

“We shouldn’t do this before we get married.”

“You know I’m hardly a virgin,” Belle murmured, noticing how lusty she already sounded. “Just make love to me, Adam.”

He looked at her beautiful blue eyes and found himself unable to deny it. Adam had been fantasying about this moment for forever now so he laid her down and they undressed each other, enjoying the sight before they dived into passionate kisses. When they were finally joined, panting at the sensation, they made love promises knowing this time they would be able to keep them.

* * *

 

Roland came over that night and Rosalie said him she couldn't get engaged into a relationship until he was properly divorced and Victoria had been calmed down, he mourned a bit, but he knew that she was right so the boy only promised to make it quickly so they could finally be together. In the very next day Rose found a nanny, a girl named Ashley and prepared herself for her first day back to the company on Monday. She still had a few fancy clothes in her wardrobe that she had been provided with while modelling and chose the best outfit she had: black trousers, white jacket, white heels and a blush-pink blouse.

Sabine encouraged her a lot when all she did was to step back, call Regina and say that she couldn't do it, mainly now when she had to leave her baby at home, but Rose was convinced to do so. She hadn't told her father about it, but Neal knew it and she was pretty sure that sooner or later he would let it slip through his mouth, but she couldn't give much thought to it or she would drown in the madness of her on mind, filled with so many doubts. Meeting with Ms. French would already be hard enough for her, but Rosalie remembered the places she used to stay at in the company and she would certainly avoid them.

So, in that morning, Rose went to Robin's office, finding him discussing some new dresses styles with Gideon. She sighed at her lack of lucky, because from all people it was Ms. French's son in there. Rosalie cleaned her throat anyway, making both of them look up at her.

"Ms. Weaver, what a pleasure to see you," Robin exclaimed cheerfully. "You look stunning as always and I'm glad you do, because we will be taking some pictures today and I want you wearing our newest masterpiece, designed by Belle herself."

"I think you'll love the dress," Gideon said, noticing her discomfort when Robin spoke about his mother. "Alice will help you downstairs."

Rose nodded.

"Thank you for hiring me again, Mr. de Locksley."

As quick as she could, Rosalie turned around getting out of the room and going down to the make-up and dressing room, where Alice jumped on her, hugging Rose close and calling her sister at each sentence she spoke. She showed her a gorgeous silver dress and let Rose pull it on before the photographer appeared to start the shooting. And she had to admit it was good.

While standing in their Rose felt like a princess, more alive than in all those dark days that started with her daughter's kidnapping. She smiled, she laughed, she made serious faces and, in the end, she was feeling herself again. Now, she knew who she was and it wasn't what people thought her to be. What she didn't realise, however was that Belle had been watching the photoshoot and only when it was over and the other were going back to the backstage, she saw her there standing with a glowing smile on her lips. She tried to ran away, but Belle's voice s her.

"I didn't know you were back."

"Regina and Robin hired me," Rose shrugged. "I hope that doesn't make you mad at them."

"No, of course not," Belle guaranteed. "I'm glad to see you here."

Well, I'm not, Rose thought, but didn't say anything. Maybe it had been a bad idea to come there, maybe she shouldn't have accepted the job if she knew that she wasn't ready to see her birth mother every single day. When Belle took a step into her direction trying to touch her face, but she shifted back.

"My child..." Belle trailed off.

"I've already told you I'm not your child."

Belle lifted her hand showing her a big solitary ring.

"Your father and I are engaged."

Swallowing these worlds Rose felt her vision blurry with tears. Gold could forgive everyone for everything, he could love endlessly and give comfort to the ones who needed it, but Rose was nothing like him. She was cold like her mother, so she turned around and went away.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose receive some shocking news.  
> Fiona finally reveals the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this fic is going to be finished this week. Another to chapters more for what I have planned, although knowing me it could turn out into three chapter, but let's see what happens... But this WIP is going to be finish until Sunday and I'm really happy about it. Thanks to everyone who is reading. You are lovely people <3.

Gold knew a call from his mother meant no good. Belle had been spending a lot of time with him at the hotel lately and he was looking for a job, so with all of this, he hadn't had much time to think about visiting Fiona, which was a huge problem because she freaked out if he didn't appear at her house at least once a week. He had driven there already anticipating the moment of leaving and planning to stop by Rose's flat to see her. She had been distant ever since she found out he and Belle were her parents, but he understood that she needed time, in fact that was why he hadn't looked for her until now, however Rose was working with her mother again and he felt like he needed to have a serious talk to her about the bad things she was saying to Belle.

Even if he comprehended her situation and knew it was hard for her to grown up in an orphanage, Adam also knew Belle wouldn't have given her up if she didn't have any other choice. She was such a lovable person, who treated her adopted children so well, that he couldn't imagine her leaving their baby in front of some strangers' house for no reason. If only he knew that she got pregnant with his child, he would have left it all behind quickier, without even thinking twice. Adam wished he could have been the father Rosalie needed when she was a child, but he had the chance of being the one she still wanted now and he wasn't going to give it up just because she was upset right now.

Taking a deep breath, he entered his old house, seeing the caretaker dusting his mother's old wine collection before she pointed at the living room and he made his way towards it. Fiona was sat by the piano, moving her fingers through it without really playing anything, her Bible set by her side on the stool alongside her golden cane.

"Mrs. Potts called me saying you were requesting my presence," Adam started.

She slowly looked up at him, not surprise in seeing her soon by the doorstep, but surely feeling stupefied to see him wearing a normal suit and no priest clothes. Fiona had been hoping for the best, even wishing he had gotten sick or something else, but even if she still needed to hear it from his own lips, she already knew.

"I went to church yesterday and you weren't there," Fiona said very slowly. "Why?"

"I resigned, I've told you I would do so, and no, there is no coming back," he replied, careful with his answer but no less firm than he knew he should be with the hard mother he had. "I'm marrying Belle and we've already reconsummated our relationship."

He knew he probably should have kept the last part for himself, but Gold wasn't a fool, he knew that if he hadn't said that, his mother would have dragged him back to the church and asked the new priest to write a new letter to the Vatican saying it all had been a terrible mistake. She had already played too much with his life and now was time for him to do what he wanted.

"No," Fiona cried, standing up and taking a few shaken steps into his direction. "You can't do this with me, you can't!"

A sob erupted from her throat and she fell to the floor, gasping for air as Gold rushed to hold her body. She was coughing repeatedly, a hand pressed firmly to her heart and he didn't quite know what to do, because despite of some flus and another clinical things, that had weakened her through the years, Fiona hadn't been ill at all for a long time.

"Mother," Gold exclaimed in despair, before screaming: "Mrs. Potts call a doctor!"

* * *

 

As satisfying to her ego as having a job again was, Rose missed Izzy too much. She was just a small baby and she hated to have to leave bottles for the nanny to feed her instead of doing it herself, but she knew she was building a better future for both of them, so she tried to relish in it. The nights, however had become her favourite part of the day, the nanny stayed until she had taken a bath and then she spent some quality time cuddling her little before Izzy fell asleep. She thought herself to be lucky because her daughter had a great sleep routine and was only awakening at each three hours for her little snacks and sometimes Sabine would warm up a bottle for her in order to let Rose get some uninterrupted rest.

That night she was tendering Izzy when she heard the knock on her door. Rosalie was feeling decided to not give her address to anyone when she got enough money to move out, but then she opened the door and her eyes got wide at the sight of Roland by her doorstep, eyes swollen and watery.

"Hey, are you alright? What are you doing here?"

"Ivy is dead," Roland murmured.

Gasping, Rosalie allowed him inside and closed the door, holding her daughter closer. She might not like Ivy because of everything she did to her, but Rose didn't wish her dead, she could never do it, actually she was praying that the poor woman could be cured of her currently mental instabilities.

"How?"

"Overdose," Roland said with a blank face, taking a seat and folding his hands above his lap. "She took all of her mother's pills."

Rose blinked. She couldn't quite understand the reasons why someone would want to end its own life, but she had never felt desperate enough to do such a thing either. Poor Ivy, she must be really bad to make this decision and the fact her relationship with Roland was one of the things that most bothered her, made Rose feel slightly guilty.

"Why?"

"She was unhappy," the boy shrugged before burying his face in his own hands. "God, I feel so guilty."

"No, babe, this is not your fault," Rose said, laying Izzy back on the basket and kneeling in front of him, pulling his hands away, so she could look into his eyes. "You said yourself that she was already a bit off when she left the country."

He shook his head. Roland had never loved Ivy and he truly got mad at her when he discovered that she didn't love him either and lied about the baby, just to make him marry her, because that was what her mother expected her to do. He swallowed, thinking that Belfrey might have been the biggest reason why she got so ill and then decided to die.

"Victoria says I should have taken care of her better," he whispered, brushing the hair away from the girl's face. "Oh, Rose, I'm such a jerk. I was a real bastard with both you and her."

"I have to agree," she answered with a small chuckle. "But her death is not on you, ok?"

Roland nodded, then pressed his forehead against hers and kissed the top of Rose's nose. He couldn't understand why she was still giving him a change after all the wrong he did in her life, but he was glad she was still willing to give it a go. He looked at the basket, seeing that little Izzy seemed to grow more impatiant a any second without anyone's attention.

"Can I hold her?"

Rose agreed picking the baby up and laying her in his arms. Just to fell the warmth of another body, Izzy stopped fussing and he smiled, because she had that magical ability of making everyone smile.

"Hello, ladybug, you're the only light in daddy's life."

There was a beeping coming from somewhere and Rose stood up, looking around until she found her cell phone.

"Hello, this is Rosalie Weaver."

"Rose, it's Father Gold... Your father. I - I need you to come to your grandmother's house. I think she is dying."

* * *

 

Rose didn't have much option but to leave Izzy with Roland while she took a taxi and went straight to her grandmother's mansion. She knew Fiona was an old woman, however he was always so firm in everything she did, so fierce and decided that it was hard for Rose to believe that she could die this way, so suddenly. Mrs. Potts received her when she arrived, telling Rose she should go upstairs to the master bedroom and that she did, finding her father pacing around the hallway.

"How is she?"

"Not well, she refuses to go the hospital," he said.

"Why?"

He shook his head, as if his mother's way of seeing this was completely impossible for other people to understand.

"She says if she God must take her, then she wants to be in the comfort of her own house."

It was madness, Rosalie concluded, there were people out there who could actually save her life and Fiona didn't want to be checked. But, she thought that if Fiona was so sure she was going to die, she must know what she was suffering of and was pretty aware of her chances of surviving here or anywhere else, however it still felt wrong for Rose.

"But, maybe there is something that can be done to help her," the girl insisted.

"Oh, my darling, she doesn't want any help," her father assured, cupping her cheek affectionally, which made Rose realise how much she missed his company. "Come in, she wants to see you."

Nodding, Rose followed him. The room was large, full of dark furniture and Fiona was laid in a huge bed, comfortably nestled against some pillows. A weak smile, very different from the wicked one she used to wear all the time, appeared in her lips and she stretched out a hand in Rose's direction.

"Rosalie."

"Fiona..." She murmured taking her grandmother's hand in hers and sitting beside her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm going to leave this world soon, but I'm glad I could see you one last time."

She could feel her father's presence behind her and it was good to know he was there, because Rosalie felt very much like she was about to start crying. Fiona scared the hell out her, but she could be a tender woman when she wanted to and once her mad threats of taking her child away ended, she proved herself to be a great company that Rose didn't want to lose just now. She had always wanted a family and thinking of losing a member of it, really hurt.

"Don't say that, allow us to take you to the hospital."

"No, no, I don't want doctors attempting to open me and fix anything," Fiona replied, stubborn as always.

That was when the bedroom's door was open to show Belle French. Rose's eyes got wide at the sight of her, because she knew how much her mother and Fiona hated each other so she was the last person she expected to see in there.

"I just got your message, I - " she started to say to Gold when she laid eyes on Fiona and Rose.

The old woman's current state seemed to surprise Belle as much as it surprised her when she arrived, because she stopped in the middle of the sentence and got a hold of Gold's arm as if to help her keep up on her feet.

"Hello, Isabelle," Fiona said, very slowly.

"What is happening in here?"

"My mother is dying and she wanted to see you," Adam explained, caressing her back.

But Belle didn't appear to buy the idea. No, Fiona had mistreated her too many times and she thought that if she called her there was maybe to humiliated her one last time, because she couldn't see any other reason to explain it all.

"Why?" Belle questioned aloud.

"It is time for the truth," Fiona shrugged, still holding Rosalie's hand security in hers. "I'm really thankful for your friendship, Rose, but I must tell you I've tried to poison your heart against your mother. She is not as bad as I said and I've never offered her any help."

"I know," Rose confessed. "I mean, I felt like you weren't telling me the truth."

Fiona nodded, looking at the three of them and finally understanding the wrong she had done. Seeing her son dedicating his life to the church would be her eternal dream, but it was hers, it had never been his and thanks to her selfishness she had taken away from him his only chance of raising his daughter.

"Here it is the family that should have been together from the start. I'm sorry that I've torn you apart," she whispered weakly. "Do you forgive me, my boy?"

"You know that I do."

"What about you, child?" She asked Rose.

The girl pressed a soft kiss to her grandmother's cheek, bathing her with a few tears as she waved her head positively.

"You regret your mistakes and I'm not one to judge them."

Feeling utterly grateful, Fiona turned to Belle French the maid who had fallen in love with her son, the woman she most hated during her life and the one whose forgiveness mattered more to her. She could never take back what she had taken from her, but she could give Rose the truth and that she did, now it was up to her to decide Fiona go in peace or not. And she had all the rights to refuse it.

"Isabelle?"

"I - " Belle swallowed. "I do."

There was a brief, slow nod and then a smile stretched in Fiona's lips as she closed her eyes. Then, she was gone.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Roland make plans.  
> Belle have a sincere conversation with Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, God, I'm back! I'm so sorry for the lack of update, writer's block had taken me.

She was wearing black, but that morning at the church, everybody was. Rose wasn’t sure if she wanted to stand near the rest of the family or if it would be right for her to do it, as she wasn’t even a recognised relative of the Gold’s, but as soon as Adam saw her, he walked straight towards Rose and pulled her into a tight hug. For a long moment, she didn’t know what to do. She had hugged him many times before, but ever since Rosalie found out she was his daughter, she didn’t allow herself to look for him again.

People were staring at them and all she could do was to hide her face on his shoulder and breath in. He was suffering and even though she was still conflicted about her past, Rose couldn’t deny the fact that she liked Adam Gold very much and that he had been the father she needed ever since he found her, so she held him close and let him stay by her side during the whole funeral. Rosalie only left her father’s side when Belle appeared and she excused herself outside, where she met up with Neal.

They talked for a while about his new apartment and how happy he was to be finally able to bring Emma and their son to the town. Rose made plans of having lunch with them once they were settled and they watched as Fiona was finally buried before he offered himself to take her home. Neal dropped her at her building and Rose climbed up the stairs to her flat, finding her best friend cradling her daughter.

"Two funerals in the same week… It must be a record," Sabine said as she fell on the couch with a sigh.

Izzy was nestled on her arms, sucking at her own fist and blinking her deep brown eyes at her mother, Rose smiled at her reaching to take the baby from her friend's arms and kiss the top of her head. From all the madness of the last year and a half, little Isabelle was the best thing that had ever happened to her and she wouldn't change one thing about the past if it was to have her there.

"Yeah, at least I got some time to spend with Izzy."

No one was working on the company, in respect of Ivy's memory and Rose took the week to stay with her daughter a bit, while trying to help Roland cope with his wife's death. He still felt guilty and the messages Victoria Belfrey kept sending him didn't help with anything. Sabine brought a basket full of muffins from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table for them, making Rose sigh happily. She was hungry and couldn't wait to bet a bit, but she was interrupted by the knock on the door.

"Is Roland coming over?" Sabine asked.

"No," Rose said. "I'm not expecting anyone."

Sabine arched and eyebrow at this, but moved to the door anyway, opening it to let out a loud squeal as she threw her arms around the woman behind it.

"Jacinda," she screamed. "Oh my God, I was missing you like crazy."

At the sound of this, Rose stood up looking at the two girls standing in there, happily holding each other and she quickly made her way to them, pushing Sabine aside to huge Jacinda too,

"I called you for months and you ignored me, silly girl."

"I know,” the Latina said, pulling away to glance down at her face. “Don't you hate me?"

"What? Never," Rose guaranteed. "You're just not allowed to play the nanny again."

Jacinda laughed, her eyes moving to the baby girl Rosalie was holding and handed to her. Of courses she knew she was never going to be alone with little Izzy, but it was good to know Rose didn’t resent her.

"In this case I'm glad to be home."

* * *

 

The days at the company were both a blessing and a pain for her. Rose loved her work, she loved to talk with her friends and plan for the next fashion show, what she didn’t like however was having to see her mother every day. She always saw in Belle’s eyes that she ached to have a conversation with her, but Rose didn’t feel ready for that, not even after Fiona confessed all the things she did and that eventually made Belle give her away.

There was this huge part of her, the one attached at her childhood memories, that made her feel the pain all over again whenever she thought about the many nights she spent crying, wishing she had a family. Someone – anyone – that would care for her. It was tormenting to keep thinking about that, so Rose just didn’t, she spent most of her time with Roland, trying to help him somehow, while they settled things in their apartment.

It was Sunday night and they were building up some new furniture, Rose sat on the floor, working with a few pieces of wood as he finished his work, adjusting a drawer to her dresser.

“I need to say,” he started, “I’ve never seen Henry look as happy as he did when Jacinda called him to say she was back.”

“I feel bad that I was the reason Jacinda felt like she needed to leave,” Rosalie said, trying to understand which piece went where.

A chuckle left Roland’s mouth as he sat by her side and took the wood from her hands, nailing it to the bigger slab without much effort. Rose definitely hadn’t been born for this kind of work, she’d modelling, or selling stuff, or anything else that did not involve building furniture.

“She lost Izzy, babe, this is not exactly a forgivable thing.”

“Yeah, but she is my friend and Izzy is fine now,” Rose pointed out with a little smile coming up to her lips. “Chubby, giggling and perfect.”

“In fact, she is.”

Although he was smiling, Roland’s eyes were fixed in an invisible point. She knew that look very well by now, it was the same he always wore when he was lost in thoughts. Dark thoughts, she needed to add. Rosalie reached to touch his forehead, brushing the hair away so she could call for his attention, making his dark-brown eyes look up at hers – some shades lighter.

“Rol, is Victoria still bothering you?”

“No, she stopped calling,” he told her. “I feel bad about Ivy, Rose, I really do, but I can’t spend my life blaming myself because of what she did, I need to start over with the family that should have been mine from the start.”

She nodded, pulling him into her embrace, kissing his cheek and letting him hold onto her as if she was his salvation. Rose loved him so very much that she wanted to take all of his pain away and, for a second, she wondered if what her parents felt, was the same. Was her mother so in love with her father that she would do anything for him? Had she, someday felt the same unconditional bond to her as she did to Izzy?

“We are going to do this Roland and we will do this right this time,” Rose promised him. “The three of us.”

He pulled away from her, just enough so he could cup her face in his hands and press an endearing kiss to her lips.

* * *

 

Rose was late for dinner with Neal’s family. It was all Alice’s fault. She had spent way too much time trying on new make-up styles on her, which meant they run late for the photoshoot and it just made the whole day a bit more complicated to her. Alone in the dressing room, she pulled on her jeans and t-shirt before reaching for the dress she had wore earlier, rushing to take it to Jessy, the girl who run their laundry section, when she heart the door opening behind her and realised that Belle was standing there.

She turned around very slowly, not feeling really ready for it. Rose and Belle had been balancing around each other for too long now and whenever Belle tried to approach, Rosalie would step away – ran away, actually. What Fiona said, had made her rethink the way she had been treating her mother lately, but although Rose didn’t want to be rude with her anymore, she also didn’t want to talk. The long, tense silence between them wasn’t something she wanted to break, but apparently, her mother did.

“Do you know what I thought when I first saw you? That you were perfect,” Belle started. “Both times. And in the second one I didn’t even know you were my daughter.”

Shaking her head, she considered walking pass Belle and simply leaving – she was really late by now.

“I didn’t want to give you up, Rose. I know you must feel like I was mad and cruel, because now you’re a mother yourself and I’m sure that you look at your beautiful daughter and wonder how someone could leave behind something so precious like that,” she told her. “But you don’t know poverty. You may have grown in an orphanage, but you always had food on the table and clothes to wear, I didn’t. We were living in the worse conditions a human being can find itself.”

Rose swallowed hard at these words. The orphanage wasn’t the best place in the world, but at least it was something, she had a bed to sleep on and the nuns were really kind most of the time. She didn’t have a family, but Rose never knew the reality her mother talked about either.

“I – I’ve never considered that.”

Belle’s lips tightened as she traced the line of her arm with a finger. Her blue eyes were sad, the colour getting darker in the yellow lights of the room, almost matching the tone of the blouse she wore.

“I couldn’t afford to buy anything. I was starving, the winter had arrived and you couldn’t stop crying because you were cold and this thin white blanket I had wasn’t enough to keep you warm,” Belle continued. “We were both going to die and as much as I had accepted my fate, I couldn’t bear to think such an innocent life would be lost so little after it begun. I wanted you to live, so I gave you away.”

“You’re rich now. It seems you’ve worked things out,” Rose remarked.

The brunette nodded at her. The way she spoke in such a broken, suffocated voice made Rosalie’s blood feel cold in her veins. She was actually pitying Belle, because she couldn’t imagine herself going through the same thing with Izzy. Her baby was so small and hopeless that living in a dirty place with nothing to eat was simply unacceptable.

“I did, but it took me time and most nights I went to bed with an empty stomach. No tears left to cry,” the mother said. “Then I met this guy, Gaston. I didn’t love they way I love Adam, but he was nice to me and he helped me to become who I am today. He promised that if I found you, he would treat you like his own daughter.”

“And why… Why didn’t you look for my real father?” Rose questioned. “He could have helped if you told him you were with child.”

“He had gone to Italy, Rose. It is not easy to find someone who is living in another country, even more if you don’t have a penny to spend in your quest.”

Taking a deep breath, Rosalie nodded, clutching at the dress she was holding.

“I can’t understand what you’ve been through because I have never been in your place, but I know I would do anything to protect my daughter. Even if it killed me inside.”

Her mother waved her head positively and she considered saying something else, but it wasn’t the right time and Neal was waiting for her, so she just left.

* * *

 

Roland was having a talk with Neal while Emma helped Henry to finish his dinner and Rose fed Izzy with a bottle of formula. She was reclined on an armchair, eyes focused on her baby’s face when she heard steps coming from behind them, but she didn’t need to look up to know who it was. They had barely talked during that night and Rose was feeling rather awkward with it, but she didn’t know what to say to Gold when he kept looking at her as if he was expecting her to suddenly come to accept everything.

She was trying. Slowly, but she really was, however pressure wasn’t going to help with anything. He didn’t say anything though, as he took a seat on the couch near her, nervously tapping his fingers to his ankle.

“I didn’t know you’d be here, child. Neal didn’t tell me,” he said, sincerely.

“Yeah, he didn’t tell me either,” Rose sighed. “But he is a nice friend who’s trying to help us… I wanted you to know, that I’m not angry with you. I’m actually very happy that we met. You’re a good father to me.”

Gold blinked away some tears, reaching out a hand to stroke her face.

“Thank you, sweetheart. That’s just what I needed to know,” Adam smiled fondly at her, making Rose’s heart warm up. “Can I hold my grandchild?”

Rosalie nodded and handed the baby to him, watching as he kissed her daughter’s forehead so affectionally and deciding that if he had known from the start, then he would have been the most wonderful father that she could have ever asked for.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose makes amends with Belle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read this story until here and thanks for your patiance with my slow updates. We finally have a happy ending! Hope you enjoy it.

The church was quiet and silent that night. I had been a long while since Rose last set a foot there with a good motivation and she didn’t know exactly what dragged her there after work when she should be hurrying home to see her sweet baby girl. There were still lots of things to be done and discussed and now that Roland’s apartment – their apartment – was finally perfectly furnished, ready for them to move in, she couldn’t wait until they settled everything for their wedding.

Henry and Ella had decided to share the date with them and they were planning a camp ceremony with very few friends and Cristal, her future brother-in-law loyal furry friend entering with a board that said “true love always finds its way” hanging from her neck. They weren’t on a hurry and Rose was glad for that because everything in her life usually happened to fast, so taking things slow was a luxury she was quite enjoying.

She sat on one of the benches, looking up at the cross at the centre of the church without knowing what she should do. Should she thank the Lord for what she had? Cry for what she hasn’t? Should she pray for her family or ask forgiveness for her sins? At this point, Rose had no idea. She sighed, rubbing at her engagement ring and trying to think when she heard steps echoing and glanced at the side corridor, seeing a small, slender figure coming from the shadows.

“Rose,” he father blinked a surprised smile appearing in his lips. “Dearest, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Neither did I,” she answered, following him with her eyes as he took a seat beside her. “Think about coming back to the church?”

Gold shook his head, seeming to be a bit uncomfortable with what he was about to say, he clasped his hands on his lap, eyes focused on the altar, avoiding her glance.

“Actually,” Adam said, carefully, “I was arranging the last details of the wedding with Father Murray.”

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

“I want you to come and so does Belle,” he told her, grasping her thin, cold hand and making Rose look up at him. “I’ll understand if you don’t, but I still want you to.”

She smiled, even against her best will. Rosalie couldn’t put into words how much she loved her father and wanted him to be happy, but he was getting married with _her mother_ and that couldn’t be hardest for her to face. Even after the things Fiona said and the many times Belle tried to apologise, Rose couldn’t still change the things she felt.

“I was thinking yesterday… It is a funny story, right? How everything went perfectly wrong.”

“Aye, I believe so,” Gold agreed with her. “Funny, but tragic.”

A sigh left her. He was gently rubbing her finger between his, occasionally brushing the piece of white gold and peridot she now wore daily. She hadn’t told him about Roland’s proposal, although he already knew about their plans of getting married ever since Ivy’s death.

“She tried to talk to me, many times. _Miss French_ ,” Rose felt a bad taste on her mouth to use those words to call Belle, but she couldn’t yet call her a mother. “I wish I could talk to her like I’m doing with you right now but abandoning me wasn’t the only thing she did. I lost my job because of in the moment I most needed it. She made me feel like I wasn’t worth anything.”

“Belle was hurt, Rose. She was bitter, she didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“She didn’t mean to hurt _her daughter_. If I was just Rosalie Weaver like she thought I was, she wouldn’t even regret it,” Rose snorted and when Gold arched an eyebrow at her words, she felt her shoulder shrink a bit. “Sorry, I know that _I’m_ sounding bitter now.”

With a mere shook of his head, Gold left her hand and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb against her rosy skin. He had that look on his face again, the one he always wore when he was feeling guilty and wishing that he would change the past.

“You have all the rights to.”

“I lost my faith, father,” she said. “I used to come to the church because I believed in something. The nuns taught me to pray and live by a code, but after everything that happened to me, I didn’t know if there was any God out there that could care for my silly life.”

“Don’t talk like that child,” he reprehended her, assuming the kind of tone he used when he was a priest. Gentle but firm. “I see a ring on your finger, I know you that have the most devoted friends and the most beautiful daughter. You’ve won as much as you’ve lost in the past two years. God doesn’t give us what we can’t take and He traces the most wonderful paths for the most special people.”

She dropped her gaze to the black purse on her lap. Years ago, even as a hopeless child, she would have believed it, but now, she found it a hard to do so, because even though she had things to be grateful for, Rose still felt like life had been too unfair with her.

“I know, I’ve been trying to convince myself of that, lately,” she whispered.

“Forgive your mother, Rose, then you’ll see your saving grace again,” Gold advised. “Bad thoughts kill as much as any decease.”

Sniffling, she nodded and enlaced her arms around him, laying her head on his shoulder and allowing Gold to pull her closer. It was good to feel like a child sometimes, even more if you had a lot of time to make up for.

“Thank you, for having my back, as always.”

“We still need a bridesmaid,” Gold remarked as he kissed the top her head.

A tiny smile spread on Rose’s lips. She wasn’t going to promise anything right now, but she was going to think about it.

* * *

 

Moving had been a whole new trouble Rose didn’t ever want to go through a second time. When she moved from the orphanage to the apartment she shared with Sabine and Jacinda – which was now only Sabine’s – she had very few things to carry, but somehow along the last two years she accumulated a large number of things. She had no idea Izzy herself had so many stuff, but she guessed that people loved to give little gifts to babies, which was why they had to fill two cars with toys.

Neal and Henry had been of great help, but it was still one of the most tiring things she had ever done in her life, even more considering that she freaked out with Roland’s lack of sense for tying a house and made him seat on a corner and watch as she did it all by herself. Rose couldn’t complain much to be clear because she was building she always wanted to have and she could feel sure that her daughter would have the childhood she had always wanted.

It didn’t mean she stopped thinking about her encounter with her father at the church, though. After a whole week living in new home, already used to a nice routine. Rose was making dinner while Roland played with Izzy, thinking about her parent’s wedding until her fiancé’s voice took her out of musings.

“Is she saying something?” He asked aloud, taking an attentive look at their daughter.

Roland was bouncing her up and down, making Izzy giggle and babble some monosyllabic sounds. Her eyes, once almost black were now getting a caramel tone that reminded Rose of Gold’s, her mouth had taken the petal shape hers – and she need to admit Belle’s too – lips had, but her hair, that was now starting to grow had taken the wavy light-brown shade of Roland’s.

“Obviously not, she is a five-month-old.”

“I’m pretty sure that _‘ah ah’_ means something.”

“I want food, maybe? I need a diaper changing? I want daddy to stop making silly faces at me?”

“You’re mean.”

Rose rolled her eyes at him, leaving the sauce to boil as she took the baby from his arms and pressed lots of kissed on her cheek. She let herself fall on the couch beside him a she snuggled little Izzy, hearing her lovely giggles and feeling selfish again. Once she thought herself to be nothing but a decent human being for taking care of her child, now as Fiona’s words echoed in the back of her mind, she considered she was mostly lucky.

“Rol, can I ask you something?”

“If this is about Friday night’s dessert, I’m sorry to say that my mother will insist in making apple pie again and nothing can change her mind,” he said, standing up and going to check on their dinner.

“No, it is not about that,” she assured him. “I like Regina’s pie very much.”

“Then what’s up?”

Placing Izzy sat down on her lap, Rose wondered if it was a good idea to have this conversation, but she couldn’t find the peace of mind to stop thinking about the wedding and her father’s pleading eyes to her when he last begged the girl to come and celebrate with them.

“You know my parents are getting married on Sunday, right?”

“Belle send us an invitation,” Roland answered arching an eyebrow at her as he poured the sauce above the pasta she left ready to go. “I told you three weeks ago.”

“Did you? Well, anyway, do you think I should go?”

Roland went back to where she was, touching her face and offering Rose a tender smile.

“I think you should do what your hearts tells you to. I don’t want you to regret not going or appearing at the church and not feeling comfortable at all,” he said. “But I also think you should know that if you don’t give your mother a chance, maybe at some point she will stop trying for a reconciliation.”

“I know,” she murmured, avoiding Roland’s glance, knowing that he was right and not wanting to give in.

Izzy made a loud wail, pulling at her hair, begging for attention and Rose stood up rocking her gently and untightening the grip of her small fingers around her curls. Roland offered to take the baby from her again, taking one of her favourite comforters from the toy box to help Izzy calm down, until she was softly sucking at her own thumb again.

 “I spoke to Alice today,” Roland told Rose, winking at her as he added: “The bridesmaids are wearing blue.”

* * *

 

It wasn’t until the very last minute that Rose dragged Neal into shopping. He was the only one who had seen the exact shade of blue Belle had chosen for her bridesmaids and the only one who would keep his mouth shut if she decided not to appear after all. She bought and off-the-shoulder dress in a delicate, fancy fabric, one of the kind the Hooded Beauty would produce, but certainly not one so pricey.

Jacinda was the one to style up her hair, while Sabine did her make-up with the perfection of talented hands. All three of them went to the wedding without telling a word to anyone, although Rose was pretty sure Roland had confirmed their presence to his mother, who as one of Belle’s best friends, would certainly be there.

She was nervous. Extremely nervous. Rose had rejected Belle many, many times and most of her remembrances of their time together were of her mother being cruel and bitter to her. She felt afraid of being rejected herself, in front of everyone, just like the day Belle fired her after catching her making out with Roland. It had been a dreadful and Rose wasn’t willing to repeat it, but she wasn’t doing this just for herself or for Belle, but for her father too and he was more than worth the risk.

When Rose reached the front of the church after giving Roland and Izzy a kiss of goodbye, she found Alice waiting in there too with a similar dress, her hair carefully pinned to one side of her head, adorned by a white gold and sapphire piece of jewellery

“I knew you would come,” the blonde squealed when she saw her, throwing her arms around Rose’s tiny and thin frame.

“Did you?”

“We both knew,” Gideon answered, approaching them with the most handsome smile on his lips. “Welcome home, sis.”

“Thank you, _both of you_.”

Alice pulled away from her and Gideon offered an arm to both his sisters, taking them in and walking them down the aisle to the place where the bridesmaids were supposed to sit, but they were stopped by Gold’s surprised gasp, his watery eyes focused on them.

“You came,” he said, stupefied.

“Of course, I did,” Rose answered. “I like witnessing happy endings and after all the painful journey needs a reward, right? Because God chooses wonderful paths for special people.”

“Aye.”

There were tears in Rose’s eyes now too, the happiness clear in her father’s expression enough to make her heart seem about to burst with happiness. He was right all along and she only noticed how true his words were now that she was here.

“Expect me to call you my dad from now on,” Alice interfered with a wink, poking Gold with the bouquet she was holding.

A chuckle left Rose as she sat down on the bench beside Alice – well, her sister – barely believing that she was really there. She could feel Gideon’s heavy hands on their shoulders and watch as Gold’s expression changed and he seemed to hold onto a breath when the church’s doors were opened again to allow Belle French in.

She looked stunning on one of the most beautiful wedding gowns she had ever seen in her life. It was white, but the tulle above it had small gold glittery flickers that gave the impression that she was a shining star. No resentment could ever prevent Rose from admitting now that she was one of the most stunning women she had ever seen.

“You look beautiful,” Gold whispered.

“You don’t look bad too,” Belle teased, before she caught a sight of her daughter sat on the corner beside Alice. “Rose.”

“Hey, mother.”

Father Murray – the church’s new priest - looked between the two of them and so did everybody in there. Rosalie was lucky she wasn’t a shy person otherwise she would already be wishing to disappeared.

“You know, we can’t continue with this wedding if we don’t have an emotional hug first,” the priest said.

In that moment, with his permission of taking a moment before starting the ceremony, Belle approached Rose, blinking away some tears and trying to decide if she was dreaming or not.

“Why are you here?”

“It was time to flip up the page,” the girl shrugged. “I’m sorry for everything I said. I can forget the past.”

Rose opened her arms for her and Belle took a step into them, hugging her daughter for the very first time ever since she left her as a baby at the doorstep of an unknown person and it felt like a new beginning. Gold joined the hug, pulling the two of them into his on arms and Rose could hear Gideon and Alice sniffling, full of emotion, at the scene.

“I love you two,” Gold murmured, kissing both of their cheeks.

Rose smiled at them and for the first time, she felt home.

“Go get married you two.”

They laughed, shed some tears and exchanged the most beautiful votes she had ever heard. That night Rosalie Weaver understood what it was like to have a family and to feel love, she learned the power of forgiveness and promised herself to whatever she did in her life, she wouldn’t forget her father’s most valuable advice. The rockiest paths were made for the toughest people.


End file.
